Boogeymen Gaiden: The Carriage
by Legend Maker
Summary: 3 plus 1 is 4. This is Part 4. 4 is death. On this Halloween day, who will survive this blackest night?
1. The Nadir of Yesterday

**Once, there was only darkness.**

**Then, the light came, and the two did battle. The darkness was ultimately cast from its position of supremacy, even as the light fractured and scattered amongst the life that bloomed, the unified radiance reduced to seven lesser strands.**

**Among that life were the inhabitants of the planet Maltus. One member, Krona, committed a terrible deed that scarred existence. In penance for his actions, the Maltusians swore to protect and bring order to the cosmos. They relocated to a planet named Oa, and became known as the Guardians of the Universe.**

**But the Guardians were not perfect. In their best intentions, they committed many errors. Factions of Guardians broke off to pursue the goal of peace and order in their own fashion, or washed their hands of the whole affair. Ultimately, the Guardians would learn to harness a mighty light fueled by willpower, and create a organization of protectors to bring their justice, order, and peace. It was known as the Green Lantern Corps, and their radiance would stand against many foes and powers, including some of their very number. The Guardians, as said, were not perfect, even in their selection of who to serve as Green Lanterns.**

**The Guardians also never knew that the light they seized control of was just one of the diffused strands, a part of a greater whole.**

**Nor that the darkness that had opposed this greater light was not gone.**

**Or perhaps they did, for recorded in their ultimate tome of knowledge, the Book of Oa, was a terrible prophecy. It spoke of a War of Light, and the ultimate end of the Green Lantern Corps. Whether it was from hubris, willful ignorance, or perhaps fear, the Guardians hid this knowledge away, refusing to acknowledge it.**

**It is too late now.**

**A new light arose, the yellow light of fear, spearheaded by the ultimate enemy of the Green Lantern Corps, the fallen Lantern Sinestro. This new Sinestro Corps would only be the first, as the other colors of the light would soon rise. The red light of rage. The orange light of avarice. The violet light of love. The blue light of hope. The indigo light of compassion. All would form their own Corps, in their own fashions. And none of them could tolerate the existence of some of the other aspects.**

**The War of Light has begun.**

**But that was not the worst.**

**Every Green Lantern knew the oath. **

"_**In brightest day, in blackest night**__**…"**_

**As the War of Light continues, all will learn that this is no abstract terror to enforce a creed.**

**The blackest night is very real. With light seeking its own destruction, the Darkness has returned. It believes life is an aberration that has poisoned its once-perfect existence. It will brook life****'****s blasphemy no more.**

**It will have it all back. By the power of the black light.**

"_**The Blackest Night falls from the skies**__**…**_

_**The darkness grows as all light dies**__**…**_

_**We crave your hearts and your demise**__**…"**_

**

* * *

**

_**Boogeymen Gaiden: The Carriage**_

Part 1: The Nadir of Yesterday

"_The blackness of the night recedes, so does the nadir of yesterday. The child I am forgets so quickly."_

_-_Sylvia Ashton-Warner

"_I see black light.__"_

-The last words of author Victor Hugo

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"_You seem distracted. Is something bothering you?"_

"_What? Oh, no I was just…taking some comfort that the office hasn't seemed to change much…I suspect that's about all that didn't change after…what happened. To the world, this last time."_

_Silence._

"_Do you think you'll need another donation? It could be troublesome, as I don't want anyone tracing anything to this institution…"_

"_If it's troublesome, why make the offer?"_

"…_my world has intruded on yours so much…and neither you, nor this place, deserves it. If I can't prevent it…I could at least try and fix it…"_

"_So was Darkseid's ability to do what he did somehow under your control, or do you just feel guilty?"_

"…_I feel like I should have come back here more. But there was just so much crap after the Battle of Metropolis…we had a year of the Titans recruiting, trying to form new teams, splitting up, not even mentioning the mess of the Everyman Project and Black Adam…then we stabilized in time for the Sinestro Corps to invade…and then…then…"_

"_Then what?"_

"_I'm not sure…I'll come back to that in a sec. You see, I'm back because of what happened during the last dark time. That…and something else."_

"_Care to explain then?"_

"_During what happened, with Darkseid…someone died. True, many people died, and most of them are just as tragic…but this person…it just seems impossible they could die. They were so…damn good, for lack of a better term. I'm sorry, I can't give details for obvious reasons…but this person…they were a lynchpin in so many ways. With them gone…I don't know. I just don't know…"_

"_Well, you're still here, doing what you can do to help people."_

"_Yes, and I won't let this stop me, but…there's something else. The something else I mentioned a second ago. Before Darkseid. I…I think I might have done something really bad."_

"_What do you mean by bad?"_

"…_there was an incident…about a year ago. It involved that constant problem we had around those times, I believe I mentioned it once or twice. This incident…I don't know what happened. I woke up and it was over, and apparently whatever happened during that time was blanked from my memory. I was given a report on what went down from a survivor, and it should have ended there…but…something changed. The way the survivor treated me changed. She tried to hide it, and move on…but I'm not a complete fool for love, Dr. Sidlakus. The way she's acted this past year…something happened during the incident. And if it affected her this deeply, and she still won't tell me…then it must have been so terrible that none of us could literally handle the truth. And if it was that bad, then how could…"_

"_How do you know it was something you did, not something that was done to you?"_

"_I think there might have been something of both in there. If it was just one or the other, I suspect our relationship would be over or back to normal. Instead…I thought we'd hit a rough patch last Christmas and fixed it up, but as time went by…it just wouldn't return to normal. There was always something there, looming over it. And the worst part is…I don't think I really want to know what I did. Or what someone made me did. At least until that person died, in this last crisis, and I was reminded that nothing lasts forever. I…"_

_Silence again._

"_We see so much DEATH, Dr. Sidlakus. Not just in life terms. We watch innocence die, peace of mind die, the concept of normalcy die, minds die…hell, I think I may have actually met Death itself. Or an aspect. Or the overall guiding force. There's a lot of theological confusion over who seems to be in charge when it comes to life ending: I think I met the top being in charge, but there are others who think they are death. Or run death. Or run death as it comes in certain ways. Or they're impersonating, which is really-grahahhhhh. water please."_

_The silence this time was briefly interrupted by a thud of a glass hitting the table._

"_You did that on purpose, didn't you."_

"_I didn't do anything."_

"_Ahuh…I'm beginning to wonder if this is really something you can do therapy about, doctor. There was nothing I could do for that person who died…and as for my relationship…what can I do if she won't tell me what happened or let go of what I did…or worse, if what I did was so bad she can't let go…"_

"_You certainly seem set on the idea that there's nothing you can do. Why do you assume that?"_

"…_this life I live doctor…it's not one of action. It's one of reaction. Something happens, and we react to it…and we just hope our reaction is good enough. Hell, I've done nothing but react ever since…since…"_

"_Since what?"_

"…_my mother. How she died…heh. But who says I hold the monopoly on that? Those of my teammates who didn't start off with dead parents, it's because those parents were evil or gone entirely…so much death in my life. I have to wonder if it's healthy."_

"_Hmmmm…when did your mother die?"_

"_Years ago. So much has happened, I can't remember just when…oh yes, I was seventeen. I ran off, things happened, and you know the rest."_

"_Can you honestly say that as a minor, you had more control over the things happening in your life back then than you do now?"_

"…_no. But it seems like I traded control in the hands of malice to control in the hands of chance. In either case, the only assurance is death, it seems."_

"_Death is inevitable, and sadly, sometimes sooner then we expect. That doesn't mean that it's all there is to look forward to."_

"_No…but it's always there. Sometimes worse."_

"_Worse?"_

"_Most of the time, you find your way to it. Sometimes though…that's not enough. Sometimes, it seems to seek you out."_

"_Considering the work you do, is it really all that surprising? You and your teammates take on the world's ills as a burden. While it's certainly a noble and good cause, it has its costs."_

"_I wonder…when will the costs become too high?"_

"_That's for you to decide. It's your life…don't leave the choice for others to make for you."_

"…_hmmm. A poem comes to mind."_

"_Oh?"_

"_Because I could not stop for death…he kindly stopped for me. The carriage held but just ourselves…and immortality."

* * *

_

"HEY WHITEHEAD!"

"GIEEE!" Noel snorted as he jerked up in the chair, blinking a few times before he fully registered the laughter coming from the computer banks in front of him.

"…you could have gone about that with more tact, Cyborg." Noel said.

"Where's the fun in that?"

"You've been hanging out with Gar and Rob too much."

"Don't use real names in the field, monitor boy!" Came Beast Boy's voice on another channel. Savior sighed as more laughter rippled from the several communicators in contact with him.

"One, fearless leader, I was talking to CYBORG, who tends to use the communicator inside his head and hence no one can hear him. Two, you should hold your communicator up to your ear, barring circumstances, so that no one could overhear you anyway. THREE, just because Robin made you the leader in his absence while he's busy in Gotham doesn't mean you should just toss your weight around at any excuse."

"How dare you hurl such abuse at our beloved Dictator for Month!" Rob's voice crackled on his communicator band. Savior ignored him.

"Four, I expected a better insulting title than that."

"Couch potato!" Rob said.

"Oracle!" Terra chimed in.

"Monitor…guy…yeah I got nothing." Beast Boy lamented.

"The View Screen Tzar!" Starfire said.

"…actually I kind of like that one. I petition for that to be the actual title." Savior said.

"Sure, why not?" Beast Boy replied.

"Excellent, oh beloved King of the Tower!" Rob said. Savior groaned.

"For the last time Gauntlet, you can't borrow my new SemiFinal Fantasy game until I'm done with it!" Beast Boy said.

"SIC SEMPER TYRANNUS! Titans of the world unite! Overthrow the hated dictator! You have nothing to lose but your chains!"

"My next petition is the next time we send Gauntlet somewhere to investigate reports of one of our villains, we don't let him bring his communicator." Noel said.

"Petition granted."

"If I may invoke the procedure of the parliament to take the floor, this would be, how do you earthlings say, dumb. What if there were an emergency? Surely friend Rob is simply joining in on our good natured fun." Starfire said.

"…yes. Of course. Good natured ribbing. That's all it is…" Gauntlet said.

"Anyway, Gauntlet. You've been in Eisenstaedt a bit. Have you tracked down Mikron?" Savior asked.

"Yeah, I've figured out where he was. It was just a matter of figuring out which place was getting takeout three times a day. Eliminating the one with the six hundred pound shut in…" Savior could almost hear the full body shudder. "But yeah, I was just about to bust down the door and inflict some samurai-jack-tion on Gizmo."

"You do that. Be careful Gauntlet. The record might be in your favor, but streaks are meant to end." Savior said.

"Oh please. This is GIZMO. He's who we warm up with on the way to take down Mumbo. Short of Geoff Johns making him the focus of a mega crossover, there's no way he's ever going to be tough."

"Just don't waltz in there trying to deal with him in the style of a soft shoe routine or something." Beast Boy said.

"Nah, I'm gonna be efficient about this. After all, I'm ten miles from home. If I don't spend at least a day there Mom would…" This time Noel knew that he heard the shudder. Rob often talked about the disadvantage of having a ninja as a mother. "Well, time's a wasting!" Gauntlet said, as his communicator blinked out.

"Right then. How about everyone else?"

"Cyborg and Beast Boy, by the docks. Nothing happening."

"Starfire over the suburbs. Nothing to report."

"Terra over downtown. Gridlock, but that's hardly a crime."

"And everyone else is in the tower." Savior said.

"You sure View Screen Tzar?"

"Let me check." Savior said, and mimed pressing a few buttons. "Yes, everyone's here."

"You fool! How do you know they haven't all been replaced with pod people?!" Beast Boy said.

"Because they'd have gone after you first for eating all their brothers, Beast Boy." Savior said, and cut communication.

The quiet of the room didn't last long.

_Tap tap tap._

"Thank you for not picking this time to practice sneaking up on me." Savior said, not looking as the alien Scalpel emerged from the shadows. It really was amazing how well he could hide in them sometimes, considering how garish his clothes were.

"Well, there's sneaking, and then there is _sneaking."_ Scalpel said.

"Yes, keep telling yourself that. Is someone trying to kill us?"

"What? No…"

"Is the building burning down?"

"No…"

"Then I need to focus on my job Nigel. We can play board games later, or whichever Earth entertainment you're enthused with this month."

"Hm…Here is a thought that I've been working on; no."

"What?" Noel said, actually spinning around in his chair to face the alien. Scalpel could read the clear tension in his body, though he suspected it was Noel's well-justified paranoia kicking in. After all, you could never be sure if the teammate talking to you was a robot or a clone. He idly wondered if Noel had a gun concealed nearby, and was confused for a moment about why that thought so deeply disturbed him.

"This isn't a hard job Noel. Tim's got the whole building wired. If there's trouble, you not only will know in seconds, but you can address it from virtually any room. You don't have to sit in front of the main console. In fact, I'd venture that in the past, you'd be long gone and using the nearly empty building for other purposes."

"For the last time Nigel, I did not eat your orange slices."

"Don't be dense, organ-sack. I'm talking about Raven." Scalpel said. He wondered what it said about him that he was able to tell the subtle differences between Noel's oblique tensions: this one was clearly different from when Noel had briefly suspected Nigel was going to attack him.

"What about Raven? She's having her own quiet time."

"Yes, and she used to spend it with you. That doesn't seem to happen much these days."

"And Tara and Gar aren't spending a third of their waking hours snogging any more. That's just the way of relationships Nigel. Here on Earth, anyway."

"I would accept that answer, if it were not for the fact that you should have already gone through the breaking-in part of the relationship." Scalpel said. "Look Noel, maybe this is none of my business."

"Perhaps not." Noel replied, though his tone and his stance of resting his head on his index finger indicated he wasn't as wholly dismissive as his sentence indicated.

"You had been dating her for a few years before I knew you. Very little had changed. But things just haven't been…the same for you two. Not since…well, last year. You seemed to be getting somewhere last Christmas, but it's slid back since then."

"Back and forth really. Nigel, you act like I'm not aware of this."

"Then why aren't you doing something about it?"

"Like what?"

"Fight for her man! Is she not worth it?"

"Worth dying for. Worth killing for. Worth going to hell for." Savior mused.

"You should stop reading those graphic novels Noel."

"But they're so charming in their silliness." Savior said.

"You're avoiding my question." Scalpel said. Noel sighed.

"Nigel…how I feel, she knows that. It's up to her to decide what to do. She either needs to patch it up completely or…the alternative." Savior said. Scalpel didn't need his elongated ears to catch the slight hitch in Noel's voice on those last words.

"Then what's wrong?"

"I don't know. She won't tell me."

"Noel, I'm not an idiot. Clearly something happened last year, during that time we had our minds blanked."

"Raven debriefed us. She told us what happened."

"What if she was lying?"

Noel had no answer to that.

"…what if she's the one who blanked our memories? It would explain…"

"I had J'onn check it out, Scalpel. Whatever happened, it's GONE. And I can't go back and ask him again, as you very well know. So maybe, just maybe, I'll take her at her word."

"…and that is that?"

"…I can only offer her…the best of myself. I try my hardest to get that. What else is there?"

"There are things you can never prepare yourself before Noel."

"Maybe not." Noel said, spinning back around to face the monitors. "I've said my piece. Unless you have a pressing matter I can actually do something about, you should go organize your files or something. Before we have a meteor land on us, or an alien invasion, or the usual nonsense."

Scalpel stared at the back of Noel's chair for a moment, and then turned and melted back into the dark room.

For a few seconds, before the room was illuminated with light.

"You shouldn't sit here in the dark. Damages your eyes." Scalpel said from where he was standing next to the wall switch. Savior glanced over the chair, as Nigel tipped his hat and left.

"…and I didn't even notice. You really have affected me, sir." Savior said to himself. "I bet wherever you are, it's probably too bright for your taste as well."

* * *

Raven's own room was dark as well, though that didn't affect her ability to read the book she was perusing. The fact that text glowed helped, as she floated off the ground in her usual meditative position.

She was not startled by the banging on the door. She'd sensed the person coming nearly twenty seconds before she'd arrived.

"Enter."

Sophie Mathews' rotund figure looked rather absurd as she entered: her lower half was covered by her costume, but Sophie had taken the upper half down and had it dragging behind her. Her torso was covered by a T-Shirt that read BIG FUN, and she had her full-face mask shoved up on her forehead to serve as a makeshift bandanna.

"Raven? Yeah, I need some of that enchanted thread you made. Costume tweaks."

"It's over there." Raven said, pointing at one of her shelves. Sophie headed over, appearing to hunt through the boxes.

She didn't need to: she knew exactly where the thread was. Much like Scalpel, she had her own motives.

"So, how's things?" Sophie asked, lifting a box out and looking through its various components before placing it back cautiously.

"The usual." Raven replied. Sophie lifted another box, pausing as she looked at its contents.

"How's Noel?"

There was no immediate reply, though it came as Sophie started to turn around.

"He's the usual as well." Raven said. "Was he trying to up your cardio training again? I thought by now he'd accept you're just going to be round. Especially after the Darkseid mess, and all the running you did. Never lost a step."

"Eh, you know him." Sophie said, finally selecting the box with the thread and making her way to Raven's desk. Sophie sometimes wondered why Raven had such a thing: both the sorceress and her books levitated. Perhaps sometimes one just needed a desk…or maybe it was for someone who read and/or wrote in a more traditional manner. Sophie checked the chair, making sure it concealed no sinister motives, before placing herself down and starting to stitch away. "So…shall we just get to it?"

Sophie's turned back kept her from seeing Raven's poor excuse for a poker face. After Trigon's demise and her freedom from her emotional prison, Raven had never quite managed to return to the look of absolute blankness she'd given so readily before. At least when she wanted it, anyway.

"What, Sophie?"

"How are things going with Noel?"

"I told you. The usual."

"Despite the fact that for ten months, which is nearly a year mind you, you and he might have essentially been strangers?" Sophie said, feeding the thread through a small needle with steady hands.

"It hasn't exactly been the best time for relationships, Sophie. Especially with Darkseid."

"That was over back in May. The last time you two were acting like I know you to, it was June. Since that brief return to form, it's slid back to this. If you've decided the relationship has peaked, then maybe you'd best end it and move on."

"What? No, that's not what…"

"Then what?" Sophie said.

"…it's personal."

"That scored a resounding one out of ten on the excuse-o-meter."

"It's also the truth, Sophie." Raven said. Sophie tried to spin the chair around, only to discover she'd forgotten it was a more traditional type of chair. She settled for getting out of it instead.

"What did he do?"

"…he didn't do anything, Sophie."

"Garbage." Sophie said. "If he didn't do anything, this would be over. The fact that you keep quiet and that this keeps sliding back and forth means whatever did happen…we were DRUGGED, Raven. You said that yourself. What did he do…"

"Stop assuming, Sophie. You know what assumption does."

"You're not leaving me much choice."

"How is this YOUR business, Sophie?"

"Raven…you're my friend."

"I know." Raven said. "Don't think I don't know it or appreciate it. But if you are my friend, you should take me at my word."

"So what's this then? Some sort of half-assed denial?"

"If you are going to keep assuming circumstances, then consider that maybe, just maybe, some things take a long time to be resolved." Raven said quietly.

"So you're avoiding making the decision?"

"No. I am…I am doing what I think is best, Sophie."

"And if that destroys what you have?"

"…then it's time has come. Everything dies eventually, Sophie." Raven said. "You don't always get to see it coming. Or get a chance to stop it. Sometimes, all you can do is all you can do."

"I realize that everything dies, Raven. I work in the business. But at the moment, this seems less like nature and more like euthanasia."

"…sometimes, if you care for something…that's what needed." Raven said.

Sophie sighed heavily, rolling her eyes: she dearly wanted to speak again, say something like 'Of all the people in the tower, you're the last person I would have thought that would fall for such drivel'. Instead, she turned and left the room. She could sew elsewhere.

Raven didn't need to have Sophie speak, nor did she have to be the mind reader she was to hear her anyway.

But even that didn't change anything. For all her efforts, and the efforts of others (she almost expected the strange dimension-hopper Titan Metatron to stroll out of the shadows of her room and start tossing off his usual insightful babble), she still couldn't come to grips with what had happened that night, almost a year ago. She'd tried, but she could seemingly only bring herself back to the way things had been for mere moments before that terrible night reared its ugly head again. Even seeing Noel at his best, as she knew was his true self, during the Darkseid horrors and the rebuilding afterward, even knowing that he was even trying to go to therapy…it wasn't enough.

Not even knowing who was responsible fixed it. She'd been attempting to decide on an approach to that for nearly a year, and gotten nowhere. She really was between the devil and the deep blue sea.

Maybe she should end it. Neither Noel nor her were the same people when they'd started their relationship, her a cursed victim of a supposedly inescapable fate and him desperately seeking a substitute for a family. Maybe now, since they'd changed so much, this was something they couldn't recover from.

But…she didn't want to do that either

Like many nights in the past, Raven again found no answer to her feelings. Crispin had said her choice would carry a price. If she'd gone back, she would have still paid it.

The price, however, seemed to be beyond her ability to pay. Eventually, something would die for it.

Much like everything eventually did.

* * *

"Didn't work out, did it." Scalpel said, sitting and sharpening his secondary glaive as Sophie walked in.

"You can tell from my tread?"

"No, that just told me you were coming. The rest was guesswork." Scalpel said. "Noel seems to think that there's nothing he can do and that the ball is in Raven's court."

"What if he was told he had more of a role to play than that?"

"I get the feeling he wouldn't know what to do then either."

"So then, what do we do now?" Sophie said, sitting down and picking up one of her firearms: watching Nigel work had reminded her she needed to do her own busywork. "Except sit here without an idea because I used to be a semi-reclusive geek and you're an alien with only a small grasp of human culture?"

"Maybe we should just let it go by itself, Sophie. If I learned anything from my species' constant wars, it's that sometimes the battle is against you and to resist will make things end worse."

"I'm just worried it will rip apart everything."

"Everything? I think the Titans are strong enough to survive a breakup between a couple." Scalpel said, as he held his weapon up the light. Satisfied, he collapsed it and secreted it within his cloak. "You're worried that you'd end up with nowhere to go, aren't you? That's why you're imagining the worst and actually getting involved in this."

"No, at the end of the day I'll always be able to bus tables or get a job elsewhere and start over; I'd just prefer not to."

"True. I suppose I'd be more out of luck." Scalpel said. "What DO you think happened? Last Halloween?"

"In truth, with how deeply it's affected Raven, I think I'm happier not knowing." Sophie said. "Some things you should never face."

"What if you still have to face them?"

"Then it's like seeing your own mother angry." Sophie said. "You know you're in trouble, but there's no getting out of it."

* * *

In truth, Noel wasn't as passive about his situation with Raven as Nigel suggested, but much like Raven, he was at a loss to figure out an answer.

When was the last time he'd had no answer to a question? Noel couldn't recall. He always tried to be ready to find a solution to anything, even the tough questions. He wasn't the only one: he recalled a time when Robin had been giving one of his 'team touchup' sessions, where the Titans ran obstacles courses and did teamwork exercises of the physical and mental variety to ensure they'd remain sharp and a well-oiled machine despite what surprises the world threw at them. Specifically, he recalled a question Robin had asked during one.

"_When will you kill?"_

"_What?" Terra said. "Did you say kill Robin?"_

"_Yes Terra."_

"_I thought you hated killing. That we do all this work so we don't have to."_

"_Trying to avoid doing it and knowing the time when it may be inescapable are two different things, Terra." Savior said. "Anything else you want to ask in this vein, Robin?"_

"_Actually, yes. When would you die?"_

"_At the end of my life. Hopefully at age 100 in bed surrounded by naked women." Cyborg said._

"_Very funny Cyborg, but I do mean it. All of you. When would you kill, and when would you die?"_

"_I would die for any of you. And if need be, kill as well." Starfire said quietly._

"_I don't know man. I think I'd try to find a third option, but…yeah. What Star said." Cyborg said._

"_I…don't know if I could kill. On purpose. I know there was…but I was just trying to…yeah." Terra said. "As for dying…not sure. I can't tell here, where it's quiet and safe, anyway."_

"_Being able to turn into a bunch of animals gives you a funny way of looking at killing. I guess if I couldn't do it if it was needed, one of them could." Beast Boy said. "But I'd die for what's important."_

"_When it comes to what's important to me, death and killing are just words." Raven said. Robin didn't ask for her to specify._

"_When it's needed." Savior said._

"_Never and for my friends, if I had the nerve." Morgue said. Scalpel had not given an answer: Robin had understood why._

"_Rob, just you left."_

"…_when would I die? Don't know. Would I die for any of you? I'd be HURT for any of you, no problem. I don't know if I'd die for you if I was thinking straight. Hasn't come up yet." Gauntlet said. "When would I kill? If there was an actual war. If not doing so would cause mass suffering. I'd avoid it. I'd do everything I could to avoid it."_

_The Titans stared at Rob in silence._

"_What?"_

"_I think they expected for you to give the comical answer first and the serious one second, Rob." Cyborg said._

"_Some things are serious."_

_More silence._

"…_I think they REALLY wanted a comical answer as well, Rob." Savior commented._

"_Uh…guy walks into a bar, owtch?" Gauntlet said. The attempt prompted boos and several empty foam cups tossed in his direction._

"_Is there a right answer to those questions?" Terra asked._

"_The day this world has a right answer to such questions is the day I leave it and never come back." Starfire said. In the end, Robin didn't have to add anything to that._

That was one of the worst kind of questions, the kind you never hoped to answer. But just as bad was one you couldn't. For someone like Noel Collins, it was even more of a sore spot. Especially considering it involved the woman he loved.

He wasn't one to hope for another disaster: the last one had been particularly bad, and it hadn't done anything to help him and Raven in the long run. But lacking the repair that could be found in crisis, what was left?  
The repair in horror?

No, that was pointless. Besides, Noel had had enough horror in his life.

* * *

_But life had no say here…_

Through space, the mass of objects streaked.

Any obstacle that got in their way was annihilated like it wasn't there. Sometimes, aspects of the mass broke off and flew off in other directions, but its main body stayed on course.

The third planet from a normal star.

One last, solitary part of it broke off as the mass approached the blue sphere, slashing down into the non-existent atmosphere of Mars. Its tale was for another story, as the cluster of objects ignited with heat, falling down through Earth's sky.

And with air to carry sound, the constant litany of the objects, the black rings, became clear.

"_**FLESH."**_

The rings scattered, streaking off to all corners of the globe. Never stopping its dark mantra.

"_**Flesh. Flesh. Flesh. Flesh. Flesh. Flesh. Flesh. Flesh. Flesh. Flesh. Flesh. Flesh. Flesh. Flesh. Flesh. Flesh."**_

Until landing, as one ring crashed into the earth and bored down to what awaited it.

"_**Morton Aaron of Earth, RISE."**_

The black hand exploded up from the ground, its rotting hand clenched in a fist, the black ring blazing on its finger.

"_The sovereign Lord will destroy death forever."

* * *

_

With a start, Savior jerked up. Had he almost dozed off, again? That wasn't like him.

No dreams this time…come to think of it, that had been a very strange dream he'd had to begin with. Dreams tended to be far more disjointed and strange then the firm recollection he'd just had.

Almost like it was telling him something. But what…

He should speak with Raven. Maybe she could shed some light on it.

…just as soon as he checked in with the others.

"Savior here. Report status. Over." Savior said.

"What, bothering us already? Nothing's happened whitehead." Cyborg teased.

"You're certain?"

"I have not seen anything." Starfire said.

"All quiet on the western front. As well as wherever here is." Beast Boy said.

"This city needs more hybrids. The SMOGGGGGGGGG." Terra complained.

"…right then. Carry on." Savior said, and broke communication. Well, nothing stopping him from going to Raven now.

Right…

Nothing.

* * *

Gauntlet was unaware of anything happening in the heavens as well, as he looked down at the (as usual) warehouse below him. At least it wasn't abandoned, but what it was said to hold on computer records and what it actually held was wholly different. Not really enough difference to interest the artifact-possessing hero, as he stifled a yawn.

"I knew I should have spent more time sleeping last night and less time re-watching Red Vs Blue." Gauntlet said, as he rubbed his eyes. "Well at least it's just Gizmo. Okay…"

_While elsewhere, three rings streaked down…_

"_**FLESH."**_

Gauntlet, not feeling in the mood for a quiet entrance, settled for the classic 'jump through a window and pose dramatically' introduction.

"Okay evildoers, prepare to be hammered against the…anvil of…justice?" Gauntlet said, looking around. He'd expected to have started to be pelted with defensive fire from…well, defenses.

Not that Gizmo had neglected defense. They were just already broken, the various guns limp on their turrets, some slashed apart and some still smoking from when they'd exploded. The 'already-beat-on' look was shared by some of the computers and devices scattered around the room.

Someone had already been here and picked a fight.

"…I hate these Halloween fics. Nobody plays by the rules!" Gauntlet said, as he brushed some glass out of his hair and looked around. "Okay fine, what is it this year? I wonder if it's J-Horror. Note to self: burn all my VHS tapes…"

Gauntlet spotted the trio of laser dots on his chest then. A moment later, he actually saw who was producing them.

The young woman stayed crouched where she had been when Gauntlet had made his noisy entrance, though the only reason Gauntlet could tell that was because of the shape of her hips. The rest of her body was covered in various high-tech devices…well, some high-tech. There was clearly some low tech in there as well, based on what appeared to be the modified cell-phone attached to the woman's shoulder armor. All in all, the female was wearing devices on her chest, belt, boots, and both arms, one of which was now aiming what looked to be a laser-cannon at Gauntlet's chest. The most noticeable feature of the tech was her helmet: it completely covered her features, with a front entirely of white segmented glass that reminded Gauntlet of a helmet from Halo.

"Hi Gizmo! I like the new look. Much nicer to look at." Gauntlet said.

"…who are you?" The geared female said, her voice a metallic rasp through her helmet.

"_**Carl Knott of Earth, RISE."**_

"I keep telling Murray, if I never get any screen time, nobody's gonna know who I am…"

"What?" The female said, as the tip of her weapon began to glow. "Who is Murray?"

"My publicist. But that's not important. Hey whoa, no need to drain the battery!" Gauntlet said, throwing up some yellow energy from his artifact just in case. "I'm Gauntlet, America's favorite Teen Titan, as measured in action figure sales!"  
"…you're…one of the Titans." The female said.

"Yup! So this is either where you shoot me or team up with me. Which is it? Choose wisely, because I have an appointment with a certain midget."

"…The Titans are set in Florida. This is not Florida…"

"I thought we were in California."

"What?"

"In fact, I could have sworn we were actually moved to California somewhere. Were we moved back? No wonder I have so many boxes in my closet."

"…WHAT?" The female said, clearly deeply confused.

"But enough about retcons, unwritten due to frankenfanon or not. What's your name?"

"_**Giovanni Lombardi of Earth, RISE."**_

The helmet of the female in front of him did not hide the narrowed eyes Gauntlet knew she was giving him.

"Look, can we move this along? I'm not here to chat with you. Unless you're single. In which case let's trade numbers. Where's that cell phone…damn it must have left it at the hotel. Really should have gotten more sleep…"

"Cipactli."

"What? Oh, echo in here." Gauntlet said. "Again though, what?"

"My name is Cipactli."

"Cipactli? That sounds like a name of a decent Tex-Mex restaurant. I'm guessing that's your cape-name." Gauntlet said. "I didn't know Eisenstaedt had any local talent. You must be new."

"…Yes. I am." Cipactli said, lowering her weapon. "What are you doing here, supposed Titan?"

"_**Wendell Wussman of Earth, RISE."**_

" I'm here to pick up Gizmo. He was running some sort of Fonzi scheme or something, I didn't really pay much attention. So, what's the haps? And why haven't I been called a snot-sniffer yet? I'd have expected Gizmo to be here by now. Where IS the leader of the Lollypop Guild? He's usually pretty protective about his stuff." Gauntlet said, looking around. "Like, this one time, I think it was between naptime and foodnap time, that's my favorite time, you see, Beast Boy and me tried to steal, er, borrow his X-Wii Station…"

"His what?" Cipactli said, cocking her head even as she made adjustments to her main arm weapon.

"Oh, he rigged up a machine that can play any video game ever made. But that's not important. What's important is, Beast Boy still has a small bald spot in the middle of his back from Gizmo's plasma rifle. He doesn't let people touch his things. He kept saying it a lot, actually, while he was shooting at us."

"…Mikron O'Jeanus is over there." Cipactli said, pointing to a corner that Gauntlet hadn't inspected. Gauntlet hopped over, discovering to his mild surprise Gizmo pinned to the wall via some sort of wire net, the tiny tech genius' equipment clearly overloaded and broken. Gauntlet was spared Gizmo's usual annoying patter by dint of the fact he was unconscious.

"Hey, nice job! Those Hive Five guys are pretty tough…well, except Gizmo really. Still, good work for someone new to the superhero industry." Gauntlet said. "So the question is: are you his girlfriend, and if so, does that make him a gay robot?"

"…your words sound like language, but they continually lack meaning." Cipactli said. "Again, why are you here? You're a fair distance from your home grounds."

"I was sent to track down Gizmo. I did. Then you took away the fun part. Oh well." Gauntlet said. "So, what's a nice metahuman like you doing rifling through Mini-Luthor's gear?"

"…I'm something of a scavenger. He's a tech genius. Thought I'd see if I could scrounge something."

Gauntlet briefly considered the moral implications. Was it right to steal from Gizmo simply because he was a villain? After all, the munchkin hadn't done anything TOO overt lately. Not like say, Dr. Light, and Gauntlet shuddered at what had happened to him.

In the end, the Titan shrugged it off. Compared to the moral grey areas he was used to, this was white as driven snow.

"So, find anything good?"

"…aren't you going to contact the authorities to take Mikron O'Jeanus into custody?"

"He isn't getting out any time soon. In fact, I'm already ten minutes ahead of schedule. So I have fifteen minutes to burn: can't have Savior start thinking I'm efficient. Then he'd give me less of a time budget." Gauntlet said. "So…come here often?"

"…what?"

"Um, that is…you seeing anyone?" Gauntlet said. A moment later his Inner Rob piped up, specifically to say _'OH GOD DAMN IT, YOU GO RIGHT FROM YOU COME HERE OFTEN TO…THAT'S IT, I QUIT!' _before Gauntlet heard the sound of a slamming door.

"You are currently the only one in my field of vision." Cipactli said: her tone was blank enough that Gauntlet couldn't tell if she was using dismissive sarcasm or she actually didn't realize what Gauntlet was asking. A moment later, he heard the sound of a door opening in his head again.

'_Wait, this either means we've been shot down or she's a robot who needs to be taught the meaning of love and humanity and junk! There's a chance! This time, just show interest in what she's doing!'_

"Heh heh, um…so what does Gizmo keep around? Anything on his hard drive you wish you hadn't opened? And pardon me for asking, but just what…"

Cipactli's head abruptly snapped to the side.

"…did you bring assistance?"

Gauntlet's Common Sense was tingling: if she WAS a villain, she could be edging him into a trap. However, he decided to keep it honest. Besides, his force field was up, so he felt pretty secure.

"Yup, this is a solo mission."

"Then what am I reading about to-oh shit." Cipactli said, and immediately dove for cover.

The wall exploded a second later, and Gauntlet's fortunately-up shield was pelted with enough debris to drive him backwards.

"Dramatic convenience strikes again!" Gauntlet cursed, as he tried to wave away the debris-smoke. "So what enemy have the mists of Avalon delivered this time? Slade? Joker? Catman? Maybe Pantyhose Taro again, man that was a…weird…crossover…"

The thing that had hit Gauntlet was the smell. It filled the room, a bizarre mix of what Gauntlet could only describe as rotting tissue and high-grade engine oil. Gauntlet had smelled some odd things before, but this was new even to him.

"ROBERT CANDIDE…" A raspy voice said. "YOUR LIFE IS OURSSSSSS."

"…wait, a villain's here for ME?" Gauntlet said.

"FLESSSSSSSSSSSH." The speaker said, as the trio of forms that had entered through the wall became clear.

"…gasp." Gauntlet said. "It's you."

* * *

"Beast Boy, can we go home now?"

"I told you Terra. One hour of patrol. There's still twelve minutes left."

"But nothing's HAPPENING." Terra mock-whined. "I'm BORRRRRRRREDDD."

"Terra, the last time you said you were bored…well, we're still finding marshmallow fluff on the ceiling."

"I wish arcades hadn't died out. They'd be a good place to hide." Terra grumped. "Oh that reminds me: ha ha, the record is still 76-65."

"Dude, it's Frogger, it doesn't matter."

"You thought it mattered when the score was 50-49 in your favor."

"Can you two flirt somewhere else? I'd like to keep my last meal down." Cyborg said on his own communicator line.

"Hey, we put up with your nuclear…" Terra started.

She almost didn't see the sword.

Beast Boy recoiled as a scream of surprise slammed into his ear, before his communicator went quiet.

"TERRA!" He yelled: a moment later a crunching groan echoed off in the distance, and Beast Boy turned to see a puff of debris-smoke. He acted without thinking, as he transformed into a bird and took off.

"Hey, what they…hey! Wait for me!" Cyborg yelled, as he raced along the rooftops after Beast Boy. "Terra, come in! What's going on?"

"…we should not have separated." Starfire mused, seeing the cloud in the distance herself as she jetted off towards it.

* * *

Terra herself was regretting her earlier words, as she crouched on her rock platform, the skyscraper behind her having suffered a massive gorge. Terra really hoped that the people inside hadn't been close to the windows, as she stared at her attacker, her communicator having been dropped in the chaos and lying broken in the streets below.

"WHORE OF BABYLON." Her attacker hissed, thrusting out his arm. The black ring ignited, ebony power forming into another massive flaming sword. Terra jerked her rock to the side, barely avoiding the scything blow: at least this time she'd kept her attacker from hitting the building.

No, not just her attacker. She knew him.

Even with his formerly white outfit stained black with graveyard dirt.

Even with the skin on his bare arms blackened to near-pitch. Skin he should not have had.

Even with his face stuck halfway between living and the visage of a skull. A face she'd never thought she'd see again.

"Godsend?!" Terra said.

"INDEED! RETURNED FROM THE HELL YOU TRIED TO CONDEMN ME TO! BUT THE LORD LIFTED ME UP, TO STRIKE YOU DOWN!" Godsend bellowed, as his ring formed flaming arrows and sent them flying towards Terra.

Terra spun her rock around and kicked off it, sending the hunk of stone crashing into the arrows as Terra free-fell to the streets below. She reached down and yanked up another platform for herself, pulling it up under her and swiftly adjusting her momentum so she didn't get crushed by terminal velocity, as Godsend flew down after her.

"Fear before him, all the earth: the world shall also be stable, that it not be moved!" Godsend yelled, and fired off a blast of black piercing energy that tore up the street towards Terra, sending cars tumbling through the air. Terra thrust out her own hands, the streets becoming extensions of herself as she rapidly molded the concrete into hands and grabbed the cars and tumbling civilians, even as she yanked her platform up and away from the blast. She angled away from Godsend, sweat streaming from her forehead as she furiously tried to maintain concentration.

"GET OUT OF HERE! GO!" Terra yelled at the people below.

"They devoted the city to the LORD, and destroyed with the sword every living thing in it-men and women, young and old, cattle, sheep, and DONKEYS!" Godsend intoned, forming another black sword of flames.

"Eeek." Terra whimpered.

Starfire's fist sent Godsend crashing into another building.

"He who lives by the sword will die by the sword." Starfire said. "I am not too surprised to see you returned, sent of God. I am also not surprised to see you unchanged."

"Star…what's going on? How the heck did Godsend come back?" Terra said

"I don't know friend Terra, but he's not done yet." Starfire said, as Godsend erupted from the building.

"AND LO HE SAID-" Was all the religious lunatic got out before he got a Starbolt and rock blast to the face, sending him crashing down to the street.

"We will have to contact aid. Where is your communicator?"

"Lost it!"

"Unfortunate." Starfire said, as she reached for her own.

The fist of black power slammed into Starfire's back, sending her crashing into another building.

"HUH?" Terra said: there was no way Godsend could have gotten behi-!

He hadn't, as another blast of black power shattered Terra's rock platform and sent her tumbling to the ground with Starfire.

* * *

Savior was spared his need to keep pondering his navel as his communicator array buzzed. However, it wasn't the main line.

"This is the Titans."

"Whoever on line thi-…acle!"

"What?" Savior said, recognizing the voice. "Babs, is that you?"

"Sending thi-all superhero…vital info!" The communication array crackled. "Planetary assaul…ck Lanterns…!"

"Why the hell do we always have interference when it's vital info and never when…actually, we never get anything but vital info, but still, this is annoying!" Savior snapped as he tried to stabilize the lines.

"They're…animating…orpses…people we….you have….!" Was all the remaining words that came through before the band completely collapsed to static. Whoever had sent the info must have been in a terrible hurry.

"…I don't like this…" Savior said, as he tried to contact the Titans. "Titans, come in."

"What? Noel? Noel get down here! We have trouble!" Cyborg said.

"What? What kind of trouble?"

"No time! Get down here!"

"On it!" Savior said, springing to his feet

Just as the wall near him exploded in another shower of debris.

A moment later, all the lights in the room snapped off.

* * *

"Terra! Are you all right?" Beast Boy said as he landed next to the stunned geokinetic.

"Gar…?" Terra said.

"Yeah, and me too." Cyborg said, appearing out of the dust to check on Starfire, who was rubbing her head. "I've contacted the others. They'll be here soon."

"What hit us…" Starfire asked.

"Gar…it's Morton. He came back."

"What? You mean Godsend? How did…" Beast Boy said.

"The same reason we all did…"

Beast Boy's veins filled with ice. He never thought he'd hear that voice again. He could barely turn to look in that direction, as several new forms emerged.

"Who's…who…uh…" Cyborg said, as his own mouth went dry.

"_**Mark Logan of Earth, RISE."**_

"_**Marie Logan of Earth, RISE."**_

"_**Silas Stone of Earth, RISE."**_

"_**Elinore Stone of Earth, RISE."**_

"You wretched aberration." 'Marie Logan' said, as Garfield Logan found himself looking at the blackened, rotting face of his long dead mother, her burial dress covered with the dirt of the grave.

"…mom…no…can't be…"

"FLESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSH." Marie Logan said, as she raised her black ring, and a clawing hand ripped towards the Titans.

* * *

It hit Raven like a bolt of lightning, almost at the same time the wall of the Tower was exploding.

How had she missed it until then? She'd sensed Sophie coming, and she was a friend. How had she not sensed THAT? Was she so wrapped up in her own problem? Had she become that selfish?

The depth of her failing became clear as the emotions slammed into her. Pain. Terror. Shock. Her teammates had encountered something so vile it was like re-living last year all over again…

The sensations slammed into her anew, as she fell to one knee. This one was more familiar then the rest. She was sleeping with the bearer.

"Noel."

* * *

"What the hell…are our defenses just a formality or something?" Savior cursed as he whipped out the Shimmer, even as the emergency lights began kicking in.

"Noeeeeeeeeeeeeeellllll…"

Few words could freeze Savior in his tracks. This did it, as much as the speaker did, as the smoke cleared.

"_**Crystal Collins of Earth, RISE."**_

"Give your mother a hug." Crystal Collins said.

* * *

All across the world, rings fell. And rose once more on the fingers of the fallen and gone.

Even on three small, unmarked graves in a quiet cemetery.

"_**Skye Winston of Earth, RISE."**_

"_**Joshua Smythe of Earth, RISE."**_

"_**Hailey Ann Roxx of Earth, RISE."

* * *

**_

And across the world, deep under the heart of snow and howling wind, a figure jerked in his throne, a goblet of black liquid flying from his hand and crashing onto the chess board in front of him, scattering the pieces.

"…well." The Lord of the Night said. "This can't be good."

* * *

"…_**By my black hand, THE DEAD WILL RISE."**_


	2. Snowden's Secret

Part 2: Snowden's Secret

"_Man was matter, that was Snowden's secret. Drop him out a window and he'll fall. Set fire to him and he'll burn. Bury him and he'll rot, like other kinds of garbage. The spirit gone, man is garbage. That was Snowden's secret. Ripeness was all.__"_

-Joseph Heller, _Catch-22_

"_Goodnight."_

-The last word of poet Lord Byron

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_Antarctica, 500 miles off the coast of the Davis Sea, 2 ¾ miles underground._

To Marissa Mori, the worst part of where she now lived was that she could never go outside.

Well, she could if she wanted to: she didn't think it would be too hard to rig up an apparatus to survive on the surface, even if said surface contained the most hostile conditions to organic life save hard vacuum. But there was nothing up there, an endless void of blowing white and ice as hard as steel. You had to go to the coast if you wanted to see penguins, and Marissa doubted the master would see any need for that.

Then again, she could have been in a normal city and still been unable to go outside. Such was the price of the life she'd chosen: being a wanted felon was the lesser of her problems.

So she stayed down here, in the structure carved from the bedrock. The best way to avoid detection, the Lord had assured.

In its own way, buried alive.

She kept busy though, primarily with her design work. She had dozens of ideas on paper and still more in her head, and each one require testing and re-testing, over and over. The Lord had also brought her a few library's worth of books, primarily for research (it was hard to run an internet connection down here), but with a few wings of other types of literature. There was also his viewing crystal, which he could magic to function like a television: he sometimes let her use that if she wished. When she'd asked why, he'd replied that it was to ensure her mind did not grow worn-out and stagnant. She took him at his word.

She'd long lost track of any normal sense of time: minutes, hours, days, weeks all blurred together, only her basic needs denoting to her just how long she'd been at a project. Sometimes the master would bring her a clock or a calendar in order for her to have some structure on a task he'd present her, but for the most part he left her to her own schedule. She rarely saw any of the master's other 'projects', and as far as she knew, she was the only one with the freedom to come and go as she pleased. Besides that, the only presence in the hidden stronghold was the Lord's 'life-reminders', as he called them.

Marissa had to check to make sure none of said 'reminders' were around as she finished her last circuit and picked up her remote, as part of her workbench detached and lowered the squat, St. Bernard sized machine she'd been designing to the ground.

"Mock-Tank Shock Version, Variant 4, running Anti-Infantry and Gamma-Class Endurance test." Marissa said into a small device on her shoulder, similar to a police officer's radio band, and activated her machine. At the same time, several humanoid robots lit up nearby and produced weapons.

The Mock-Tank skidded across the ground, rolling on universal wheels, as the humanoid robots fired at it with various projectile weapons. The compact ground-robot swerved rapidly around the shots, even as a small cannon popped up from its roof. The cannon returned fire, far more accurately, blowing holes through its attacker's chests and disabling them in several seconds.

The floor opened, and another, slightly larger humanoid robot emerged. Instead of producing a gun, it transformed its arm into a cannon and took aim. The Mock-Tank dodged the first shot, but it did not dodge the second, the larger robot's laser cannon impacting it and blowing it to pieces with immense force. Shrapnel impacted against the force field Marissa was using and the victorious robot, which was left a mess of ugly wounds, though it still seemed functional.

"AI protocols for luminal weaponry need work." Marissa said into her shoulder recorder. "The Mock-Tank's self-destruction when damaged badly, however, remains at optimal levels despite my recent changes to its interior. I do not think I will be able to rewrite its AI vectors to the degree that's needed any time soon…let's say a deadline of six weeks and two days…"

When the explosion detonated on the ceiling some feet away, Marissa's initial thoughts in the back of her shocked confusion was that one of the Lord's other projects had gone awry. Said thought was immediately followed by the fact that the Lord didn't have any projects near where she worked, and she certainly hadn't done anything in the base in the past few days that could cause this. Then what had happened?

"Master?" Marissa said, looking at the dust cloud from the broken ceiling.

"No. But I'll certainly give you a _deadline _little missy…"

Marissa had never expected to hear that voice again, and it rooted her to the spot.

"_**Mitchell Mori of Earth, RISE."**_

"Awwwww…you're still like that? Or are you back to that?" Mitch Mori rasped as he touched down. "I thought when you ripped me to little bits you'd gotten more spunk. But instead you're back…to the deer. But that's all right. I'll make do with what you are. I coped before." Mitch said, as he reached up his hand and ran his putrid tongue along the finger adorned with the Black Lantern ring.

Part of Marissa tried to move, trained reactions attempting to seize the controls, but it was crushed under the sheer sick horror that had consumed her. He couldn't be back. Not him. She'd almost stopped having nightmares, and yet here he was again, and she had to run to fight but she couldn't move at all and god he was coming closer.

"You haven't changed much, have you?" Mitch said, as he reached out and seized his daughter's face by her cheeks. Marissa tried to recoil as the stench of decay filled her sinuses, only to find her head and body locked in place by black strands. In the back of her mind, she was vaguely aware that this thing facing her must have somehow broken her force-field generator while her attention was riveted on it. "Not much growth…well, nowhere good anyway. But what's still good about you's still there. I can smell it."

Why why were her sins so great…?

"Come on, pumpkin. Daddy's coming…"

Marissa only felt a slight buzzing in her skull as the arm passed through her. Mitch Mori had a considerably stronger reaction, as the wicked claws both tossed him away, cut the strands holding Marissa, and ripped most of his face off.

The Lord stepped around Marissa, his cloak surging out and forming into several more wicked blades. They pierced through Mitch's body, ripping him to pieces in a spray of foul ichor.

"The body of M. Mori, Worthless scum, like the cover of an Old Book, And Stript of its Lettering and Gilding, Lies Here, Food for Worms. But The Work shall not be Lost: For it will (as he Believ'd) Appear once More, In a New and More Elegant Edition, Revised and Corrected By the Author." The Lord said. "That was not your epitaph, _Cuitlahac_, and I don't appreciate you acting like it was."

A vicious gurgle was the only reply, as dark energies flowed out from Mitch Mori's vivisected body and began pulling the parts back together.

"What a remarkable surprise." The Lord groused, as he turned to face his primary aide. "Miss Mori! I need for you to return to sense!"

_What the, is it, how, he's dead, alive, some disguise, how did, why…!" _Marissa's thoughts babbled in her head in a stream of panicked nonsense, her brain going from locked up to explosively overclocking upon seeing that her nightmare wasn't staying down dead like he should have.

"Too far Miss Mori, find a balance. Swiftly. More trouble's coming."

The ceiling exploded anew, and with far more violence. Violence and heat.

"More trouble's here."

With that statement, Genocide made their entrance, their outfits blackened and coarse with dirt (though considering two of them had worn black to begin with, it wasn't very noticeable) and their faces contorted into half-skeletal rictus'. Marissa surprised herself by tearing her eyes from the regenerating body of her father to look at the trio, though in truth she had no real idea who they were.

"Hello boss. We've come for our back pay." Sizzle hissed.

"Don't even bother finishing that tired joke. Don't you have some half-breed ghost child to hunt down?" The Lord said.

"HE'S NEXT!" Sizzle roared, as she thrust out her hand and sent a stream of explosive black fire at the Lord.

"Great." The Lord said, before grabbing Marissa by the shoulder and yanking her backwards as he recoiled away from the attack. The flames erupted on the ground, the heat searing Marissa's face.

"But believe me, when it comes to pain…!" Sizzle started up again, before the black hand of shadow surged down from the ceiling and seized onto her, yanking her back up through the hole she'd made with a yell moments before an explosion shook the upper levels.

"Not in the mood for a marathon today, sparky. I'm sure you understand." The Lord said. A moment later darkness bloomed near the Lord and Shadowmaster leapt out, a storm of black daggers flying at him. The Lord swatted them out of the air and returned fire with his own blast. Shadowmaster dove back into the darkness to escape, only for the blast to curve around and seek him out as he re-emerged.

The Lord wasn't even paying attention to the resulting explosion: he was looking at his own hand.

"…this explains some things and brings up other, unpleasant possibili-GRRRRRRRRRRRRRAUGH!" The Lord snarled as a black pillar hammered him into the ground. Marissa found herself knocked backwards from the attack, and as she scrambled upward, she found herself face to face with Murdercrow.

"You are fool to care for him? You broken imbecile." Murdercrow said, seizing Marissa by the throat. "He'll use you and toss you aside. Just like he did me. You have no use for that heart, much like he does. Join us and…"

A black blade exploded from the ground between the two women and sliced off Murdercrow's hand.

"Sorry, she's not interested." The Lord said as he swooped down and kicked Murdercrow across the room. "She's also not like you. You think I killed you just because, you stupid girl? You would have been a liability in my world. Easily manipulated and turned by my enemies. Quite frankly, the fact you think there was anything personal in my choice of you as a sacrifice shows that even death couldn't cure your stupidity."

"You will PAY." Murdercrow hissed. "We have seen the true heart of darkness. You are nothing compared to it! A pretender and a th-!"

"Yes, so I've noticed." The Lord said. "What have you?"

The new shadow hand seized Murdercrow and smashed her into the ground. With a scream, black lines flew from her ring and ripped the shadow hand apart, only for Murdercrow to stand up into another cracking roundhouse kick that sent her smashing through the room's far wall.

"Emotion. They want emotion. Anger, fear…others." The Lord said, as he drifted back towards Marissa. "That explains why they dug up your father."

"…Who…who ar-?"

"Old associates of mine. How they came back like this, I am not sure."

"WE ARE THE BLACK LANTERNS!" Mitch thundered, finally back together. "We shall consume the…!"

"Thank you." The Lord said as he literally blew Mitch's head off. Despite this result, the Lord's eyes narrowed. "Not good. That should have vaporized him. I think they can negate magic. Unfortunate."

"WE CAN DO FAR MORE!" Sizzle screamed, shooting downward from the sky as she fired a spray of fireballs and black lances. The Lord surged his cloak up, blocking the shots with a grunt, even as Marissa's work table floated up, carried by dark power itself. It then flew forward, taking Sizzle in the temple and sending her flying.

"They also seem to maintain any superpowers they had beforehand. Also unfortunate." The Lord said, as he turned around, ready for the next attack.

Shadowmaster had indeed returned…with company.

"This was an interesting discovery." Shadowmaster said, as he held up his hands.

Encased in a black energy cage, a snarling, yowling black cat hissed and clawed at the cage bars that held him. The cat wasn't very big, and hence Shadowmaster was able to easily hold it in both hands.

Marissa's eyes stared at this, before flicking to the Lord.

"…I recommend putting that down." The Lord said quietly.

"Okay." Shadowmaster said.

The sound of the yowl was swallowed by the sound of crushing meat.

* * *

_New York City._

"And what is this mush again, Sine?" Rebecalnatrac Styilnifanalan said. Though one would think it strange that she could say anything at all, considering her white alien countenance should have prompted screams and gasps from the surrounding populace. Even in a city like the Big Apple, the alien master warrior known as the White Hole would have stood out.

However, the world was not seeing the White Hole. Instead, the world saw a large, but normal human female, dressed in a smart looking business suit. If anything, her male companion stood out at the table more, just wearing casual pants and a shirt, with a many-pocketed light jacket and a pair of trainers, especially considering the other female was also wearing a business suit.

But this was New York, and hence such a small difference was ignored, the larger differences of the trio known mainly by the names of the White Hole, Nightwalker, and Dr. Westminister concealed by adapted hologram technology as they sat at one of the tables set outside the corner restaurant.

"Ice cream. Come on Becky, you'll never know if you hate it if you don't at least TRY it." Nightwalker/Sine said. The White Hole poked at the melting mound in her bowl a bit more, before lifting a spoonful and sampling it.

"…Better."

"That's a relief. I'd hate to try and feed something that doesn't like ice cream." Dr. Westminister said, as he dumped several pills into his own dish and quickly ingested them. The holographic disguise he wore covered his own unique features, specifically that his entire epidermis was covered by a layer of semi-malleable bone. Bone that was quite painful to have, though Westminster didn't have a choice in that matter. He tolerated it through constant ingested painkillers: he sometimes cursed that if he hung around Hollywood, he might have his own popular hospital drama.

"…" Rebecca 'said'.

"What? You're not exactly easy to feed, Styles." Westminster said.

Rebecca's glare could have peeled paint off the walls, as she pushed her ice cream aside.

"No Becky. Calm down." Nightwalker said, reaching out and gently taking the White Hole's wrist. "I thought you got all that out of your system for the moment. After what you did to that female Ragdoll."

"…Did she not deserve it?"

"More than, but…ugh." Dr. Westminster said, somehow getting his false face to turn green. "Plus it got us kicked out of the Six."

"Yeah. It's too bad. Scandal was pretty hot." Nightwalker said. The White Hole renewed her glare at the redhead. "What? She was."

"So. What's the plan?" Dr. Westminster said.

"Well, barring evil gods trying to take over the world again…there's a few outstanding bounties in South America we could seek."

"Ugh no, I had enough humidity in that Thailand mission." Dr. Westminster said.

"We could kidnap another rich twit and then charge a bigger ransom."

"I don't know, kidnapping always struck me as a little too morally scummy. Plus the first and LAST time we tried that, we ended up fighting that damn Manhunter."

"So what. Rebecca tossed her halfway across the city and into a lake."

"I still don't know how she survived that without mortal injuries." The White Hole groused.

"How about Industrial Espionage in Berlin?" Dr. Westminster suggested.

"There's trouble getting paid there. The people tend to have immensely high opinions of themselves and think that they can hire mercenaries and then not pay them because it's cheaper to just hire a bunch of scummier mercenaries to take out the saboteurs."

"Ah yes, that mindset. The same kind that sends endless soldiers to their deaths and then…"

The object was strangely noiseless as it fell out of the sky. Until it impacted anyway, sending an explosion of stone and dust up from the middle of the street where it had landed and triggering an immediate panic, as people saw sudden explosions, screamed and began running, some yelling that the terrorists had come back.

As for the three at the table…well, only the White Hole showed no reaction. Nightwalker recoiled, and Dr. Westminster not only recoiled as well, he did it so violently he nearly fell out of his chair.

"WHAT THE HELL!" Dr. Westminster said, taking a moment to recover before ducking down behind the table, ready to tip it over if need be. "Nightwalker, I thought you said you had Calculator blank all our bounties!"

"I did! Unless…" Nightwalker said.

"Who cares?" The White Hole said, standing up. With a swift kick behind her, she knocked the chair away, cracking her neck as her human and business suit disguise vanished, leaving her in her white and red combat attire in a swirl of white cape. She produced her mace from within her outfit and gave it a brief twirl.

Before the voice spoke.

"_Styilnifanalan_…_uro-els…"_

Nightwalker had seen her alien companion lock up precisely once, and that had required a psychic throwing a mental force bolt into her brain that would have made the average person's do their best impression of a scene from _Scanners_. The fact that this arriving force had done with words made Sine's own blood run cold.

It was the fact that she also recognized the arrival as speaking Blacktrinian that made her immediately drop her own disguise, pulling her personal blade from beneath the table. As she did so, the White Hole spoke.

"_Roi keis arnk usk vol…"_

"Wait, what? Why…can't…" Nightwalker began translating.

Before she could finish, the smoke had cleared.

"_**Whytechilde of Blacktrinia, RISE."**_

Standing before the group was a woman. In terms of height and build, she was somewhat unremarkable, though athletic, in nature, though it was somewhat difficult to tell with the black robe covering her form. A silver claw escaped from the robe, shifting the ornate markings on the material, markings in a language Sine was becoming familiar with. The arm attached to the claw was fitted with pristine armor that, at one point long ago, had been white. Tribal markings etched along the metallic claws, rituals and rites from a time past. The arm that had emerged adjusted the large black hat that sat on the person's head, raising it enough so a full-face mask could be seen, its white surface caked with black patches.

Eyes opened behind the mask, a soft glow of light emitting from the orbs even as black smoke poured from the sockets and rose to the sky.

And Sine knew.

"…that's impossi…"

The White Hole's scream was so loud it nearly deafened her two companions and actually cracked several nearby windows, as the White Hole charged directly at the woman and brought her mace down.

Nightwalker never even saw the woman move, as she grabbed the mace by the handle and stopped the attack in its tracks. A moment later, the ground exploded upward around the two from the sheer force of the blow.

"_Rebecalnatrac…tsur-ho _many years and you still lose your head so easily." The woman said, her alien language abruptly becoming English. "You are such a disappointment."

"DIE BITCH!" The White Hole shrieked, swinging her mace in a rapid-fire pattern that would have sent M-Abrams tanks flying like bowling pins. Her enemy effortlessly deflected them all with one hand, knocking the blows aside as the White Hole smashed several large craters into the street, sent cracks shoot down two further streets, and tossed nearby cars on their sides and tops from the shockwaves her impacts were putting out.

"SINE, WHO THE HELL IS THIS! HOW THE HELL IS SHE MAKING REBECCA LOOK LIKE A JOKE?!" Dr. Westminster yelled over the cacophony of the battle.

"That…that's the first White Hole! Rebecca's mentor! But…it can't be! She's been dead for centuries!"

"She got better!" Dr. Westminster said as he pulled out his Glock handgun. "How did she die last time?"

"…Rebecca killed her!"

"In combat?"

"No…she poisoned her food." Nightwalker said with dark shame. "Because…she could never beat her mentor in combat. No matter how hard she tried."

With another horrendous scream, Rebecca tossed her mace aside and tried to grapple the original White Hole. Almost like a dance, the Original knocked Rebecca's grasping claws up and buried her elbow into the White Hole's torso. Blood flew from Rebecca's mouth, as the Original shot out her foot, seized Rebecca with her clawed toes, lifted the alien off the ground and then smashed her down to the street with a thunderous crack.

The windows the White Hole had already damaged shattered outright.

"…maybe we should ru-" Westminster said.

"SHOOT YOU BONY BASTARD!" Nightwalker yelled, as she aimed both her wrist gauntlets at the Original. Said Original's ears peaked up at the sound, and turned towards the pair.

Nightwalker opened fire, ultra-dense plastic orbs flying at the alien. Nightwalker had expected a dodge, or maybe her attack having little to no effect.

She had not expected the Original to grab all the orbs out of mid-flight in a blur of arm movements.

A second later, Dr. Westminster fired. The Original's head snapped to the side, the bullet not even grazing her. The Original promptly crushed Nightwalker's orbs in her hands like they were made of cheap candy.

"Guns are not a substitute for training; let me show you why."

"We are in so much trouble." Dr. Westminster said, as the Original floated up off the ground and approached.

* * *

_Somewhere on the world's oceans._

"Hi mom." Elijah Versaw said, as he laid a bouquet of freshly cut flowers on the rough grass in front of the headstone. "You doing all right up here? I know you liked…watching the tide go out at night. One of the things I could give you that didn't remind you of…well, you know."

The lithely muscled young man glanced down at his knee, before adjusting the artificial glasses he wore partly out of habit these days. The clouds overhead were threatening rain, but Elijah didn't much care. With the power of the Speed Force, he could run through a hurricane-level downpour and emerge dry as a bone. Nor did he care if he got dirt on his slacks or dress shirt: he could vibrate any grime right off.

It was an odd expression, dry as a bone. Bones were rarely dry. Elijah had killed enough people to know that fact better then the average person.

"It was the only way. You KNOW…you knew that. That piece of shit wouldn't have stopped, the city would have…and the rest you probably were better off never knowing." Elijah said. "I haven't forgotten what you asked me before you went. I'm trying mom, I…you never understood what the world was like, _IS _like. It's probably BETTER if Charlotte…I…I know what I'm doing. I'm listening, but I know what I'm doing. It's for the best."

The grave had no answer. Elijah hadn't expected one.

"…I do regret some of it. Kei. Toby. Some of the others…I would have done it a bit differently. Wouldn't have let my darker impulses have so much sway…you know I'm not lying, don't you mom? I never lied to hurt you. Even with you gone, I don't plan to start. You KNEW why I did it, right? You're the only one who matters." Elijah mumbled, his hand digging into the ground for a moment. "You'll see. The world will come around sooner or later. I'm just way ahead of the curve. They'll realize that the only way to stop a disease is to cut it out."

The only reason Elijah heard the incoming object was because of how quiet the island was.

It still impacted in the ground before him before he could react. For someone like Elijah, that was really something, and it caused the murderous speedster to recoil backwards and fall on his rear.

"What the FU-!" Elijah said, staring at his mother's grave. What the hell had just happened?

"…what did…are we…?" Elijah said, turning and looking at the sky. It betrayed nothing of the events that had just occurred. "Charlotte did you…oh she's doing that course, maybe…what the…the…"

The ground had begun to shake, and a deep, primal part of Elijah's brain suddenly began screaming that this wasn't just some random event, or even just a predetermined attack. Something was very, very wrong.

His brain had _no _idea, as the blackened hand emblazoned with a ring tore up from the ground. Elijah recoiled once more, his eyes wide in shock.

"Wha…wha…_NO."_

"_**Caroline Versaw of Earth, RISE."**_

"So…you're still so good at lying to yourself, aren't you, Eli?" Caroline rasped as she pulled herself up from the dirt. "It's always comforting when a mother can teach what she's best at to her children. You've excelled."

For the first time in his life, Elijah Versaw was at a loss for words.

"You were better than me at it though. Able to keep telling yourself that I could be happy, on this piece of sand, my every whim catered to…knowing you built it on death and destruction. Telling yourself the reason the cancer took me so quickly was due to its virulence, not because I was too ashamed to fight back against it. Telling yourself that you were making that lost girl you took in a better, functional person when all you're doing is recreating yourself. So very good at it. You were a good boy, Elijah."

"…thi-this isn't…!"

"Another lie." Caroline said, as her ring glowed black. "One last lie. You liked to claim you no longer have fear. Liar."

The black ring fired, sending off a ray of cutting ebony. Only Elijah's power saved him: he would have been too late to dodge otherwise.

A desperate dodge at mach-velocity was a messy affair though, and only Elijah's innate manipulation of kinetic energy kept him from breaking every single bone in the resulting fall and tumble. Spitting dirt out of his mouth, Elijah tried to scramble away.

"Oh, look. Running again. Taking the coward's way out. Just like you abandoned Light City after making such a mess. Just like you cowered in the shadows when your powers were gone. Say, how's your friend Toby? How about Kei? That was her name, right? Do you still remember it, or have you scrubbed your experiences well enough to forget it?" Caroline said as she floated over. "Then again, what can you expect from a fluke? I mean your empowerment, by the way. Or maybe not."

"…not…happening…"

The black spear lanced down, piercing through Elijah's right hand. His scream echoed across the island, as he coiled up and clutched the wounded appendage to himself, blood spilling down his arm.

"Amazing how clarifying pain is, isn't it?" Caroline said. "You've been running from it from far too long. Running from it all."

Elijah was vaguely aware of two streaks of motion overhead before the new figure crashed down in front of him. Elijah looked up, his glasses hanging off one ear.

"_**William Versaw of Earth, RISE."**_

"Time to pay up, you little shit." William said, cracking his decaying knuckles.

* * *

Charlotte Caileigh would like to have said she was home-schooled, except she had never really learned anything.

Well, not quite. She had learned every single verse of the Bible that told her she was a wicked, vile girl. Her father had made sure she'd known that, along with how angry he was that she was such a wicked, vile girl. If not with words, with his hands. And with her mother standing by in her husband's judgment, along with her two older brothers, in their isolated homestead in Tennessee, she got to hear it a lot as she grew up.

She'd tried so hard to be a good girl too. She'd kept the house spotless. She'd practiced cooking until her hands nearly fell off. She read her bible all-through weekly and prayed to God to be a good girl. The litany of her evil never stopped: in fact, it had gotten worse when she'd started menstruating. As had the whippings.

She had never understood what sins she had committed. Her only indulgence was going for nightly walks, when her father had passed out from his 'daily farming efforts', as her mother had called them.

She hadn't meant to find the gem. She'd seen the flash of light fall from the sky, and thought it might be an angel. She hadn't gone into the crater that she had found: she had just looked down into it for a moment.

The gem had risen up and come to her before she'd even realized it was there.

She'd known pain. She'd known terrible confusion and fear as she'd stumbled back home. She'd just wanted help.

She'd never seen her father so angry. He'd thought she'd been out with a boy. He wouldn't listen to her attempts to explain.

It was strange, when he'd hit her and she hadn't felt it. When he'd found the gem embedded in her hand, he'd proclaimed she was possessed and used the fireplace poker on her, screaming that he would send her to hell where she belonged.

She hadn't felt that either. So he'd had her brothers pin her down and tried to carve the gem out with a knife.

All she really remembered after that was a rush of heat, lots of screaming, and her mother finally breaking her silence to shriek for Charlotte to be gone from her house. Charlotte, not knowing what else to do, had fled, leaving her stunned brothers and the cooling corpse of her father behind.

She'd thought she _had _been condemned to hell, those next few weeks. She'd wandered a fair distance, hours and hours at a time, yet she barely grew hungry or tired. One night she'd stumbled in front of a car with its headlights off. The car had been totaled: she hadn't had a scratch.

Then she'd wandered into the city of Jackson, and been taken in by a supposed nice man. The man had not been nice. The man had wanted to poison and enslave her. Before he could get around to it, she'd been brought as an offering to another man who had run 'operations'. _That _man wanted to show off his new mercenary.

One mass slaughter later, she'd met Elijah Versaw.

Elijah had taken her in, given her a home. He'd explained to her that she was not possessed by demons, but had been given a gift of great power much like he had. The fact that it had kept her alive clearly meant it felt she was worthy to keep it. He said that, if she let him, he'd teach her to use it.

She hadn't always felt comfortable, especially when he'd made her a costume and given her a new name, Empyrean. Sometimes he was cruel, but as he said, he'd never been so without a reason. He'd shown her that she wasn't vile and worthless, and he asked for little in return. She'd given what she could. She'd given her loyalty. Without requesting it, she'd eventually gone to his bed.

Then that crisis had happened, and Elijah had been robbed of his power. For the first time, she'd seen him weak, helpless. She had protected him, and in doing so, she had begun to realize that he had been wrong in how he'd gone about treating her as well. She'd made sure he knew it, and demanded better in return for her protection. He had been angry, but he'd done it.

Eventually, his powers had returned. However, at the same time, Elijah's mother had grown ill. Charlotte had helped where she could, but in the end Caroline Versaw had died. Caroline had always been distant, but kind to her, and Elijah had clearly cared for her as well.

After her death, he'd begun trying to teach her again, this time knowledge and understanding of many worldly things, instead of just her powers. When she'd asked why, he said that she deserved to have more than what he had offered.

She had learned much these past months. About her life. About what kind of person she was and could be.

She'd also learned that in the world she and Elijah lived in, there were often great surprises.

So when her bedroom window smashed open, she managed to keep her cry of shock brief.

"Elijah? Is that…?!" She'd said, her long blonde hair swirling as she'd semi-leapt out of her chair.

"No, whore."

"_**Elginbrod Caileigh of Earth, RISE."**_

And with a stare of overwhelming horror at the dead, blackened face of her father, Empyrean realized that maybe she hadn't escaped hell.

Maybe she never had.

* * *

The room had gone dead silent, save for the sounds of bloody meat falling to the ground.

Before the cat now sitting on the Lord's outstretched hand hissed loudly. Marissa blinked in surprise, her head darting to the cat as the Lord withdrew his arm and lightly petted the small animal.

Shadowmaster stared himself, before he looked at the bloody piece of road kill that was now dripping from his hands. What appeared to be a raccoon, to be specific.

"I know well the tactical use and personal pleasures of sadism, Joshua." The Lord said. "But I never did indulge for pointless reasons."

"…did you just…blow through a fifth of your power…to spontaneously seek out a decoy and swap it out?" Shadowmaster said.

"I consider it well-spent." The Lord said, as he transferred the small cat to his shoulder with one hand, as the other ignited with power. "And it was more like an eighth. Let me show you. MEGGIDO RAVE!"

The erupting blast of power that flared into being and exploded down the length of the room would knocked Marissa flat on her back, had the Lord not grabbed her as she recoiled. The area-filling attack surged forward and consumed Genocide and Mitch Mori, their screams of rage swallowed by the noise of the blast.

"That won't slow them much. Let's go, Miss Mori." The Lord said, as his cloak surged around the pair. Marissa's whole vision went black, before she had the most intense feeling of vertigo in her entire life.

When her vision returned to normal, they were in a dark hallway.

"We can't keep engaging in here: they've damaged the place enough as it is." The Lord said, as he gestured at the wall, part of it sliding aside to reveal an emergency panel. "I'm initiating complete lockdown. Sealing away all the projects and assistance."

Marissa could just stare at the wall.

"Miss Mori, I will admit this is considerably out of the ordinary, but I really cannot keep…dragging around dead weight." The Lord said, typing rapidly at the panel. The cat on the Lord's shoulder mewed at Marissa. She did not seem to notice.

"And you." The Lord said, taking the cat off its perch. "I assume you want to help."

The cat mewed again.

"Right." The Lord said, and tapped the cat on the forehead. It immediately fell asleep.

"Dream of glory." The Lord said, as shadowy mist surged around the cat, carrying it away to the sealed-off areas. "As for you Miss Mori…"

A shrieking crunch of metal sounded down the hallway.

"Fast!" The Lord said, as the snarling black head of a savage beast surged down the hallway and closed its teeth down on the Lord's body. The Lord hissed out a breath before slamming his fist into the construct's head and blowing it apart, disengaging himself from the remains as black vapor hissed from his body.

"…master?" Marissa said, the small part of her working brain taken aback by this reaction.

"…It is close." The Lord said, grabbing Marissa by the shoulder. "Let's go!"

The pair vanished in a twist of energy moments before the walls ripped apart around them.

"After him! He can't have gone far!" Murdercrow yelled.

"I got him!" Mitch said, and the four reanimated beings blasted upward through the base, the bedrock it had been dug out of, and the mile of ice above it before exploding upward into a howling, life-destroying blizzard, ferocious winds blowing white snow across Antarctica's desolate landscape.

Part of which was flying right at the four.

"TAKE IT DOWN!" Sizzle yelled, as the four Black Lanterns fired power from their rings and blew the gigantic hunk of ice the Lord had hurled at them apart. Destroying the projectile revealed the Lord floating off in the distance, as he made a few rapid gestures.

"Cast a cold eye, on Life, on Death, Horsemen, pass by." The Lord said, and seized the myriad ice fragments and initiated a whirling tornado of ebony rending, sending the dense crystal shards ripping through the Black Lanterns.

Held by aspects of the Lord's cloak wrapped around her body and shielding her from the cold, Marissa could only watch as her master unleashed his assault. And how quickly it was turned away, as a deeper black scattered the tornado apart. The Lord's head jerked to the side just in time for Shadowmaster to fly from his teleportation portal and smash him with a gigantic spiked gauntlet, sending him tumbling to the ground, though he countered with his own blast as he went down to drive Shadowmaster back. Marissa hit the ground with considerably less impact then the Lord, but the sensation still slammed through her body, knocking the breath out of her.

"Damnation. They really can pretty much ignore magic." The Lord said, pushing himself up. "And our powers…too similar. Too similar to be completely wrong."

"Master…?" Marissa said.

"Still on that one-note, Miss Mori? I'd give you an order, except circumstances have forced you out here without anything resembling appropriate gear. You can't really do much at all." The Lord said, as he floated to his feet and pulled closer to him, a few more tendrils crossing in front and behind her to enhance her guard. "Then do just this. Try not to die. You'd be IMMENSELY troublesome TO REPLACE!"

The Lord leapt up at his last words as a storm of whirling black discs ripped apart the ice where he had stood. The Lord landed once more, as Murdercrow crashed down where the Lord had been, the rest of Genocide and Mitch joining her.

"Your treachery is long past due, pale shadow." Murdercrow said. "We will show you TRUE darkness. We will show you the face of hell."

"Hell? Look around you, never-weres. We're already IN hell." The Lord said, holding out a hand as a Zweihänder great sword manifested in it. "If you wish to drag me to Lucifer's maw, you will find I don't go quietly."

* * *

In all honesty, Dr. Richard Westminster STILL wanted to run away. He'd had enough hardship in his life as far as he was concerned, getting forced into an experiment that caused constant bone growth all over and within his body, which in turn forced him to pop constant painkillers in order to function like a normal person. Getting laughed out of his attempt at the hero business and having to turn to 'villainy' to make enough money for said painkillers didn't help when it came to 'bravery'. It was why he was working with a (formerly?) psychotic alien, after all: if there wasn't something she couldn't brawl with effectively, they would be smart enough to not get involved with it at all.

But this wasn't a case of making the wrong play. This was trouble coming right out of left field, and worse, from a source you would have thought was closed off long ago. In fact, this was hero trouble. Why did hero trouble keep seeking him out when it had told him it didn't want him?

Ugh. The hassles of not fitting into black or white.

"Uh Nightwalker, what…?" Dr. Westminster said.

"What are you dense? Are you retarded or something? MAKE SOME GODDAMN NOISE!" Nightwalker yelled, as she finished reloading her orb launchers and opened fire.

The Original dodged the attacks, the explosive orbs detonating behind and around her, making her robes flap in the wind. Westminster cursed under his breath and reached into the long coat as part of his proper combat outfit, having finally gotten around to dis-engaging his disguise. He pulled out his personal MP5 sub-machine gun a second later and joined Nightwalker's fire.

The Original jerked and weaved more: the only indication the two were getting anywhere near her was a few holes in her robes.

"Unfortunate children. So reliant on your projectile weapons…" The Original said.

The White Hole came crashing down from behind, swinging her mace. The two metahumans hadn't been shooting at the Original just in the hope they'd hit her. They'd also been making enough of a racket so that the White Hole could sneak up behind her former mentor and lower the boom.

It wasn't enough, as the Original jerked to the side and The White Hole's mace just met the ground once more. The shockwave threw both Nightwalker and Dr. Westminster off their feet.

Even as the White Hole whirled off the attack and lashed out with her foot, her hat flying off as she finally made contact with her mentor. The Original flew backwards and caved in the front of a nearby parked truck.

"…so. You actually learned something." The Original said, pulling herself free. The White Hole's respond was to lift up the nearest car and hurl it at her.

The Original dodged and closed the gap at the same time, the car flying over her head as she did a low dash towards the White Hole. The White Hole brought her mace up, swinging out and missing.

Unfortunately she also missed with the follow-up spinning kick. And the roundhouse that followed that.

"You never were much good at camouflaging your intentions." The Original said, and lashed out. The White Hole was not as good at dodging, eating several swift blows to the torso. Shrieking, she clawed for her mentor's mask, only for The Original to dodge aside, seize the back of the White Hole's head, and smash her into the ground face-first.

"Just like it was, all that time ago. The second things don't go your way, you lose your head and go berserk." The Original said. "I tried to make you something. I see now I might as well have tried to spin precious metals out of excrement."

Nightwalker would have normally indicated her anger with a sound. This time, she settled for action, as she slashed the Original across the back with her sword.

The undead alien turned, and Nightwalker went crazy, laying into her enemy with every bit of strength and skill she could muster. Black blood stained the ground.

At least until the Original grabbed Sine's sword.

Her whole attack stopped dead, Nightwalker gazed into the mask of her enemy. She knew stances well enough that all she had done was nowhere near enough.

"…did that even hurt at all?"

"Not really, no." The White Hole said, and twisted. Nightwalker's sword snapped like a tree branch.

"GAH! WHAT THE! HOW-!" Was all Nightwalker got out before the Original grabbed her by the throat.

"…that sword was a gift." Nightwalker croaked.

"You should treat your gifts better." The White Hole said, raising her free, clawed hand. "Your last lesson, I'm afraid."

* * *

Empyrean didn't know what to do. This was Elijah's world, not hers. She didn't like to fight with empowered people, nor did she seek out fights with them. She tried to do her best to not offend anyone, all around.

It didn't take away this thing in her room. Her father.

"Disgusting harlot, you thought you could run away from your discipline? After you killed me? You haven't even BEGUN to feel punishment. I'll strip the skin off your…"

Empyrean didn't quite punch the Black Lantern back out the hole he'd made in her wall, and hence pretty much ripped out her entire outside wall. She didn't much care though, as she leapt out after him and crashed down in the garden where he'd landed.

Caroline had liked working in the garden. For some reason, that just made her angrier.

"YOU LITTLE BITCH!" Elginbrod rasped.

"You're not my father." Empyrean said.

"YOU WILL RESPECT YOUR FATHER YOU DISGUSTING-!"

"YOU'RE NOT MY FATHER!" Empyrean screamed as she punched the Black Lantern in the torso so hard she nearly split him in half. The corpse staggered back, and Empyrean brought her foot up and rammed her sneaker into the Black Lantern's chest, sending him flying backwards and crashing through a tree.

"Father…was a flawed man. He did bad things." Empyrean said, as she reached under her dress to clutch the small crucifix she wore. "But I didn't kill him. He killed himself."

"You accursed WHORE!" Elginbrod shrieked as he flew out of the shattered tree, firing a piercing black ray. Empyrean dodged to the side.

"Elijah told me to hate him. But I couldn't. He…was sick. Terribly sick." Empyrean said sadly. "I know when God came to him, he would have seen the truth. That he'd want to atone for what he did. God would have forgiven him once he knew the truth. I have too."

"YOU THINK GOD WILL FORGIVE YOU FOR YOUR CRIMES? THERE IS NO GOD! THERE IS ONLY DEATH!" Elginbrod yelled, firing a storm of force bolts from his ring. Empyrean weaved through them, one striking and deflecting off the gem in her hand.

"You're wrong. He's there. And I will not have you stand by and have YOU tell me otherwise. You are _not __**my father!"**_

The punch sent Elginbrod crashing through the mansion Elijah owned. For a second, Empyrean paused.

"Oops." She said, putting one hand to her mouth. Elijah probably wouldn't like that. He also probably wouldn't like she'd jumped right into the fight in her light summer dress instead of in-costume…but she was pretty sure she could…

She almost punched the body as it crashed down next to her, staying her hand at the last second.

"Elijah?!" Empyrean said, alarmed. Elijah just groaned softly, his clothes now torn and bloody from several wounds. Empyrean started towards him before she heard the crashing noise behind her.

"DISGUSTING UNWANTED SPAWN!" Elginbrod roared, flying towards Empyrean as he fired off his ring. Empyrean was knocked to her knees as the line of black seared a burning wound across her shoulder and spine, crying out at the sudden pain. "I WILL RIP THE DEVIL RIGHT OUT OF YOUR-!"

Empyrean sprang backwards, ramming her elbow into Elginbrod's gut. He screamed and tried to rip at her neck with his ring, but Empyrean was quicker, reaching up and pulling Elginbrod over her and into the ground with an island-shaking impact. He pulled his broken body upward to receive another kick, this one knocking him right off the islet.

"Father, if you are somehow trapped in this, I will free you. I promise." Empyrean said, before running to Elijah. She gaped at his condition: she knew, perhaps more than anyone, just how fast he was. For something to actually do him harm…

"Elijah! Elijah, are you okay?"

"He will never be okay."

Empyrean looked up as Caroline and William Versaw lowered themselves down nearby, and suddenly Elijah's condition made a lot more sense. Empyrean swallowed grimly as she realized that whatever was re-animating the dead did not just extend to her.

"Why do you feel any sympathy for him? He's a monster." Caroline said. William just snorted.

"…not to me." Empyrean replied.

"…did what had to be done…I…did what had to be done…" Elijah whispered.

Empyrean sensed the new movement just before it impacted nearby.

_They _impacted nearby.

"No. You did what you _**WANTED **_to do."

"_**Luther Nevias of Earth, RISE."**_

"_**Rudy Bialas of Earth, RISE."**_

"_**Geoffrey Tercero of Earth, RISE."**_

"_**Toby Garigen of Earth, RISE."**_

"_**Stephen Pierce of Earth, RISE."**_

"Now the shoe's on the other foot." Toby said.

* * *

They wanted emotion from him. Specifically, they wanted anger and fear and pain. The Lord could understand that.

He also wasn't the type to give people what they wanted. That went double for these 'people'. If they wanted a furious lunatic barely fighting back his own terror, well…  
He'd give them something else entirely.

"Critical Helix!" The Lord yelled, firing a corkscrewing blast from his free hand.

"ARGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Murdercrow and Mitch yelled as they were blasted away. Marissa, still wrapped up in the Lord's cloak and kept away from the fight, could only keep doing the staring that had defined her actions ever since this had started.

"Ruinous Lance!" The Lord said, aiming his sword at Sizzle.

"GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRHHHHHH YOU BASTARD!" Sizzle screamed as the bolt of power impaled her and smashed through an icy wall.

The black daggers slashed themselves across the Lord's side a second later; the Lord hissed and turned towards Shadowmaster as he flew towards him.

"Still doing that ridiculous spiel, are we?" Shadowmaster said. The Lord ducked away from his blow and lashed out with a foot. Shadowmaster laughed as thick, dark mist consumed him, carrying him away from the attack.

"Not the-GERK!" The Lord gasped as a leg flew out of the black mist that had materialized and kicked him in the throat, driving him back as Shadowmaster reformed himself from his portal.

"What, no named attack for me?" Shadowmaster said. The Lord raised his blade, even as Shadowmaster smirked and began vanishing into dark mist again.

The Lord dropped the sword and fired a two-handed blast into the last remnants of the warp. Several feet away the air abruptly exploded and Shadowmaster staggered out of it.

"The Lord's Wholly Original Spiked Tentacles Of Forced Intrusion!"

"Wait, what?"

FLORGLORSH!

"ARRRRRRRRRRRGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH! YOU ASSWIPE, THAT'S NOT EVEN A PASTICHE! THAT'S A COMPLETE RIP-OFF!"

"Don't care! Evil!" The Lord said, smashing Shadowmaster into the ground and then hurling his ravaged form away. "What has my world come to when I'm forced to resort to BANTER, of all things..."

Murdercrow returned, black construct tasers in her hands, as she slashed down from the sky. The Lord blocked them with his sword, but he felt the impact. Not a good thing.

"Bastard!" Murdercrow hissed, spinning her weapons before she rained down more blows. "Took…POWER…from our master! Thought you were a GOD? You are NOTHING!"

"And YOU are seeking a heart I don't have. I don't think you're doing your job very well!" The Lord snapped as he deflected Murdercrow's attacks and kicked her away. Sizzle came next, blasting a stream of fire at him: he dodged to the side and slashed upward, forming a dome that erupted into a merciless burst of explosive rays that blew the former pyrokinetic out of the sky.

There was a brief pause, and then Genocide returned, floating together.

"Your powers against us continue to grow weaker." Shadowmaster said.

"Soon, you will have no defense." Sizzle said.

"And then we will have YOU." Murdercrow finished.

"…heh." The Lord said. "Ghosts pass on and ne'er waste your time, On bad biography and bitter rhyme. For I am what this cumb'rous clay ensures, and what's to come, is no affair of yours."

Then the Lord turned and slashed behind him.

"YOU REALLY THINK I'M THAT STUPID?" The Lord yelled, the cutting blade flying towards Mitch Mori.

And missing. Marissa's eyes filled with sick dread as she turned around…

She made no sound as Mitch's hand ripped through her chest.

"…no." The Lord said, reaching out.

The black spears impaled and tore through him, black mist exploding from his wounds.

"Yes." Murdercrow said. "This affair is over."

* * *

Self-justification. That was all that mattered. You couldn't let the world speak for you.

Elijah knew what the counter argument would be. Once you started self-justifying, it was easy to excuse any action, any atrocity.

Elijah didn't make excuses: he was a killer. But he hadn't forced peoples into gas chambers or ripped their guts out because voices in his head had told him to. His city had been poisoned, and the only way to take it back was to remove all the poison, by any means necessary. Too many people had gotten away with too much for too long. They had to pay.

As for his other deeds…power corrupts. He knew that now, and didn't do it any more. He could have slipped a lot worse.

Everything else was what had had to be done.

Looking at the faces of the men he'd slain wouldn't have changed that. But coming from the mouth of his own mother, who he'd done virtually everything for, had taken a sledgehammer to Elijah's soul. How could he answer that? How could he fight against that?

He should have died.

Except for Charlotte.

"You can't have him." Empyrean snarled at the five arriving Black Lanterns.

"Oh don't worry bitch." Luther Nevias, who had operated under the nearly-entirely stolen gimmick of the Pranker before meeting his end at Cauterize's hands. 'We're going to enjoy ri-"

The fist shut Luther up and nearly ripped his jaw right off as he went flying.

"YOU! CAN'T! HAVE! HIM!" Empyrean yelled as she grabbed Geoffrey's foot and swung him into Rudy's still-sizable gut. "I'll send you all back to hell myself!"

"Great. Another uppity bitch. Fun." Toby said, as black energy blades fired from his ring. Empyrean dodged the attack only to run into a bladed fist projected by the recovered Luthor and then a giant nightstick projected by William. She was back up on her feet in a second, slamming both fists down on the ground to fire up a cloud of dust and dirt before leaping and punching William, going right through the attempted ring-shield he'd made.

Charlotte Caileigh. She'd been a broken, shattered puppet, terrified of the big world her abusive father hadn't even begun to prepare her for (except in ways that just made Elijah angry when he thought about it) and believing everything her disgusting excuse for a parent had filled her head with. If she'd been a normal girl, Elijah admittedly wouldn't have had _much _sympathy, but the fact she had a gem in her hand that gave her the power to tear down whole city blocks…

He saw himself in her. A useful tool as well, but primarily himself. He'd had to claw his way all alone, but for Charlotte, he could give her a hand.

She hadn't turned out the way he'd expected. Oh, he'd played on her weakened state of mind enough to ensure her complete devotion and even her love (and she had that demure shyness in her that was similar to an aspect that attracted Elijah to his personal fetish, Asian women)…but then he'd gone and lost his powers and Charlotte started developing on her own. Maybe he would have tried to make it go back the way it had been once the Speed Force had returned, but then his mother had gotten sick. On her deathbed, she'd asked Elijah to make sure Charlotte 'turned out healthy'. Elijah got the message, and while could self-justify a lot of things, not honoring his mother's last wishes was anathema.

Now here she was, faced with terrors that had shattered his (metaphysical) spine, including her own father, re-animated by whatever bastard force had done the same to his parents…and she wasn't giving an inch. For him.

What kind of a man was he?

"What delightful spirit." Caroline said, floating down nearby. "We'll enjoy feeding it to our lord. As for you…"

The black ray hit only ground, Elijah now crouching down several feet away.

"…mother." Elijah said sadly.

With a bellow, Elginbrod made his return.

He got to see, through the unique vision of a Black Lantern, the primarily yellow aura Elijah had emitted flush to crimson red.

A microsecond later Elijah slashed him into about 16 or so pieces.

"You however, ARE NOT HER."

A blast of power erupted from Elginbrod's ring, catching Elijah off-guard and blowing him backwards. He managed to hold onto the sword he'd retrieved from his wrecked house though, as he righted himself.

The scissoring blades of Stephen Pierce snapped on air as Elijah yanked Charlotte out of the way.

"Elijah!" Charlotte said, her voice adoring for a moment, before she elbowed him in the stomach. "About time you snapped out of it, you jerk!"

"We have a problem." Elijah said, gesturing at Elginbrod's reforming remains before wincing. His pierced hand still hurt like hell, but with his good hand occupied with a weapon he didn't have much choice in the matter.

Black spears rained from the sky. Elijah barely managed to dodge around them, cursing under his breath. Were they somehow negating his abilities, or were the rings just that good at…

The RINGS!

"All right you animated assholes, let's see how well you do if…!" Elijah started, and then cut his insult short as he blurred away. The sound of slashing rang through the air, and a second later Elijah crashed back near Empyrean, his sword nearly bent in half.

"Damn it! Even worse." Elijah growled, scrambling up as the Black Lanterns assembled. He'd tried to cut through their rings and found he might as well have tried to carve through a mountain made of diamond. Whatever they were made of, they had nearly broken his sword instead. Considering who he'd had make it, that was really saying something.

"We can take them Elijah. Together." Empyrean said.

"No. Not like this. Not here. We have to run." Elijah said.

"There's nowhere to run, child. Nowhere to hide." Caroline said.

Elijah didn't answer. Instead, he grabbed Empyrean.

A myriad of ripping black hooks flew at him.

They missed, as Elijah blazed off the island, hit the water running and didn't stop, fleeing his home and the demons that had risen up there.

Only to find, as he ran into the pitch-blackness awaiting him, that maybe his resurrected mother had been right after all.

"…_**YOU?!"

* * *

**_

"…you care for her." The Original abruptly said, much to the surprise of Nightwalker, who had been expecting pain. "Why?"

"Why did _YOU?"_ Nightwalker shot back.

"I would have liked her to have become one of my daughters, until she stabbed me in the back. Rather literally." The Original said. "Do you honestly think she won't do the same to you?"

"You think you know her? Then you know why she did that!"

"She could have found a way around her womb…"

"NOT THAT! SHE WAS SICK!" Nightwalker yelled. "Her wiring was all screwed around from the second she was born! And you know what? Your damn empire LIKED that. Liked she was that way. They liked the savage, unrelenting beast, more than you! Do you know why? Because she died several times, and they brought her back with cloning. They never brought YOU back. They never bothered giving her the help she needed. Your EMPIRE wanted her this way. Her a monster, and you a martyr. The second she was out of their grip, the second she finally was given medication to keep her calm…that's the real her. You never saw the real her. And deep down I'm pretty sure you know WHY!"

"And you actually think that I don't realize that? That all my work was to keep her a beast? Etiquette lessons, herbal remedies, and a regimented workout session certainly sounds like I wanted to concoct a monster, doesn't it?"

"Then why seek the monster that could finally be something else?"

"Because there could have been something else. In the end, there wasn't. It wasn't all just a poor mind, human. She willingly embraced the monster. I can't fault her that; that is who she is."

"You're wrong."

"It doesn't really matter, child." The Original said. "You're dead."

The blow did not come from the front.

It came from the rear, as the Original whirled and held Nightwalker out as Westminster opened fire with his sub-machine gun again, the bullets raking across the ground and across Nightwalker's back. She screamed, even as Westminster did in realization of what he'd done.

"NO!"

"I told you not to rely on projectile weapons so much, children. They are all so…lacking…in…loyalty?" The Original said, as she realized she didn't have blood on her face. That wasn't so much a surprise…

But the lack of blood on the ground in front of her, nor the lack of sound of it flowing out and hitting the ground was.

The Original White Hole had been dead over a thousand years. Her species had revered close combat and designed its wars and warriors to match. Against projectile weapons, their bodies failed them, and their defenses were lacking efficiency.

The concept of body armor that could stop bullets was against the undead alien's thinking process. That bought Sine a second.

She used it, snapping her left hand into the Original's face.

"Noted."

The acid orb exploded against the alien's mask, and a second later Nightwalker was flying through the air as the Original tossed her away. Westminster cried out again, and then, unable to help Nightwalker with her landing, decided to turn his anger back on the Original as he re-aimed his gun and fired.

It emitted a grinding clicking noise instead of expelling bullets.

"What? ARE YOU KIDDING…! NOT NOW YOU…ARGH!" Dr. Westminster said, clawing at his now-jammed weapon as the Original calmly reached up and removed her disintegrating mask, getting it off her face before the acid reached her. The action knocked her hat off in the process, as the Original tossed the nearly-destroyed mask to the ground and looked at the doctor.

In life, the Original White Hole had been considered the height of beauty, with flawless white skin (though it would have appeared bleached to human eyes), perfect features, and the immensely rare trait of glowing white eyes. The black rictus of her features did not detract much from that appearance, as she looked at Westminster with her shining eyes.

They betrayed nothing, but Westminster didn't need any windows to a soul (or lack thereof) to know what was coming, as he tossed his worthless gun to the ground.

He replaced it with two more, John Woo-style, as he opened fire on the Original with twin handguns.

The Original jerked slightly to the side, the bullets flying past her as she walked towards Dr. Westminster. He kept shooting, but the 'spray-and-pray' method worked as well as it had the last time, with the Original dodging every shot.

"You may want to consider…" The Original said.

Dr. Westminster dropped his twin handguns as he pulled a shotgun out from beneath his coat and fired.

He hit only air, but not because the Original had dodged. It was because she had disappeared entirely.

Dr. Westminster swiftly realized she HAD dodged as he looked up.

The White Hole crashed down on top of the doctor as the end point of her jump, driving him into the sidewalk. A normal human would have been crushed, and even with his protective bone carapace it still slammed through Westminster's body like he'd been hit by a truck.

"Do you mind? I'm trying to avenge my death here." The Original said.

"…glurk." Was all Westminster got out.

"You can die later. I believe that…" The Original said, turning around.

"CATCH!" Nightwalker yelled, tossing one of her detonators at the Original.

The Original grabbed it out of mid-air and hurled it into the distance, where it exploded.

"As you wished." The Original said, leaning down to pick up Dr. Westminster and hurling him into Nightwalker before she could dodge. Movement caught her immensely sharp eyes, and she turned to face her back-on-her-fee-and-once-again-charging student.

"Same tactics. Same reactions. So many stagnant centuries." The Original said dismissively. "They hailed me as perfect, and they replaced me with _you_. I think once this is done, I may have a discussion with the Empire before the master…"

It was right about then that the Original was going to dodge, only to find herself stuck to the ground when she tried to jump. Specifically, by two bone knives driven into her cloak.

"Hmmmm?"

The White Hole struck, but not at her mentor. Instead, she reared down and hammered her fist into the ground. The ground shattered, but in a specific manner, as the White Hole smashed a length of stone upward with the White Hole at one end of it. The abrupt see-saw toss hurled the Original into the air, even as the White Hole ran up the length of her improvised staircase and off the end, leaping up at the Original.

The Original hit a building, ricocheted off it masterfully, and lanced back towards the White Hole. The impact of their collision broke every single window in the surrounding block.

Dr. Westminster was just starting to pull himself off the ground when the White Hole' shuddering, broken body crashed back down near him and Sine. A few moments later the Original landed nearby.

"I guess you learned more than one new technique after all. Not enough though." The Original said.

_Silence._

_Then a dark chuckle as Marissa Mori's body abruptly turned pitch black._

_A chuckle from the Lord, as he turned to look at Genocide, even as cracks of streaming light began to appear on his body and Marissa's blackened form. Murdercrow's eyes widened._

"_IT'S A DAMN DEC-!"_

_The explosion shook Antarctica and caused a massive crack to open on the ice floor the battle had taken place on. Then there was silence._

_For a moment._

"_FIND HIM! FIND HIM!" Murdercrow roared as she and her fellows swiftly regenerated. "Kill your way across half this planet if you have to, HE'S GOING TO DIE!"_

The black dot bloomed in the clouds above the Original long enough for her to look up.

The blast of power crashed down on her, shattering the whole city block she was on and driving her deep within the earth. As the street broke and bore down around them, the three opponents of the Original White Hole found darkness surrounding them anew, stealing them away before they could be crushed in the collapse.

Then silence again, punctuated only by the sounds of distant sirens. Fortunately, most normal people had long cleared away from the site of the battle.

The Original's hand broke from beneath some rubble moments later, as she pushed herself free and looked around, quickly assessing her old student and said student's new friends were gone. Interesting.

The Original held out a hand, and her almost-gone mask flew into it, regenerating as she placed it back on her face, her hat returning to her head as well. A neat escape.

But there was no escaping the White Holes.

More precisely, there was NO escaping HER.

Drawing in all the information her senses could bring to her, the Original lifted off and began seeking her chosen victims.

She had a feeling she would have company soon.

* * *

"…what the heck happened? Did we die?" Dr. Westminister said, staring at the blackness that composed his current line of vision. "Heaven is…nondescript. Or hates cleaning."

"We're not dead. Yet." Nightwalker said, supporting the White Hole as she looked up at her rescuer, even as the black cloud they were inside sped away from New York.

"Hello Miss Sine. Been a while." The Lord said, as Marissa peered from behind him and two people Nightwalker didn't recognize stood nearby. A man and woman, to be precise. "Circumstances have forced forming an abrupt team. Welcome to Tartarus."

"What?"

"Shall I be clearer? All right then." The Lord said, glancing at Elijah and Charlotte as well as he spoke. "Welcome to the only chance you have of living through the night."

"You sure this team-up is going to work, Lord? I mean, the rescue was nice and all, and I appreciate the blades I got off you…but we aren't exactly the type to trust." Elijah said.

"Oh don't worry." The Lord said. "I have a bigger plan than that."


	3. Martyrs Of A Fallen Cause

Part 3: Martyrs Of A Fallen Cause

"_Sleep sweetly in your humble graves,_

_Sleep, martyrs of a fallen cause.__"_

-H. Timrode, _Ode_

"_I am about to take my last voyage, a great leap in the dark.__"_

-The last words of philosopher Thomas Hobbes

**Some things define a person****…**

_The battlefield was eerily quiet. This was not a common occurrence, for this war or any war, but the young Blacktrinian working furiously on his fallen comrade barely noticed. He had enough situational awareness to make sure an artillery shell or a plasma/laser/eruption/whatever blast the opposition was using wasn__'__t aimed at his position, but that was about it._

_So quiet. The Blacktrinian battlefield was so rarely quiet. The Blacktrinians were not a quiet species. The fact that the battlefield__'__s noise was distant and dull spoke of what had happened here, with the bodies of his erstwhile allies stretching over the horizon. If the battlefield doctor known as Nigicalnack Hastionfarlock had known of the battles of the Somme or Passchendaele, he would have definitely drawn parallels._

_It should not have been this way. Nigicalnack hated war, battle, and his species__'__ obsession with it in general, but he also knew that his species was very, very good at it. A massacre like this spoke of an intelligence breakdown so catastrophic that people were likely to be executed for it. Or so Nigicalnack thought._

_The truth was about to be revealed to him, the truth that would define the rest of his life, as the soldier under his hands expired despite his efforts. Nigincalnack deflated somewhat, his body slumping, before he drew his blood-slick claws from the corpse and used it__'__s cape to wipe his hands as clean as he could. With that grim but practical task one, he leaned over and placed the body facing up. Glancing over his shoulder, wary of enemy attack, he then maneuvered the corpse__'__s limbs so that they were gripping their weapons and laid in a proper manner. He mopped his brow and stood up, cracking his shoulder before moving up with the skirmishers._

_At least, that__'__s what he would have done, had the voice not spoke._

"_Ah, Corporal Hastionfarlock. You always were too damn sentimental.__"_

_Nigicalnack jerked in surprise: he wasn__'__t a White Hole or anywhere near an elite soldier, but he was good at using his ears. Then again, he wasn__'__t that surprised that the tall, lanky Blacktrinian had managed to sneak up on him. Said Blacktrinian was a survivor of an entirely different sort._

"_Lieutenant Son.__"__ Nigicalnack said, snapping off the Blacktrinian equivalent of a salute. __"__Too many dead sir. This has been a very bad day.__"_

"_Yes. A bit surprised you survived, considering your lack of stomach. But this will be rectified.__"__ Lieutenant Son said, aiming the enemy weapon at Nigicalnack._

_In all honesty, the alien doctor wanted to be shocked and surprised. But considering what he__'__d heard, and observed, both in the past and on this battlefield, all he could feel was the low dull burn of an angry suspicion confirmed._

"_So, did you go them about selling us out to the enemy, or did they come to you?__"_

"_Don__'__t be absurd, Hastionfarlock. Traitors are strung up and have their organs tossed to the crowds. Soldiers who turn a bad situation into a victory get medals.__"_

"_You think you can__…"__ Nigicalnack began, before pausing. __"…__you didn__'__t.__"_

"_This enemy of ours__…__what__'__s their name? It all blurs together for me__…__their defenses were good. They also don__'__t have the best impulse control. So I figured it was just a matter of offering them a strong target, and when they took the bait, attacking them via the rear.__"_

"…_you KNEW we were going to get slaughtered?__"_

"_Officially the enemy__'__s strength was underestimated, but I was able to turn the situation to my advantage. That__'__s the problem with having a war on so many fronts. No one can examine the finer details any more.__"_

"…_you TRAITOR__…__!__"_

"_Oh grow up Hastionfarlock. The era of noble battle and glorious conquest just belongs in the propaganda they feed children now. Now it__'__s about who can make the best of the situation, no matter what. That__'__s me. I__'__m the new face of war. And I__'__m quite willing to make sure my version of events goes smoothly.__"__ Lieutenant Son said. __"__You__'__re not cut out for war, kid. It__'__s not about who wins. It__'__s about who loses. I am afraid you-__"_

_The Blacktrinian was not as knowledgeable about war as he liked to think._

_The artillery blast went off near Lieutenant Son, knocking him askew and sending his stolen gun flying from his hands. That was all Nigicalnack needed to leap through the air and pounce on his treacherous superior._

"_ACCURSED BASTARD! SO MUCH DEATH! ALL FOR NOTHING! ALL FOR NOTHING!__"__ Nigicalnack raged. His anger cost him, as the more calm and unfortunately stronger Son fought off his attack and grabbed Nigicalnack by the throat, slamming him into the ground before ramming a small hidden blade into his side. Nigicalnack__'__s yell echoed across the battlefield._

"_Not really. They__'__ll get me what I want. That__'__s all that war__'__s for these days.__"_

"_I__'__ll__…__I__'__ll__…"__ Nigicalnack rasped._

"_Die like the rest. Go to the Realm of Light beyond the River of Sleep or wherever you so-called heroes go. You might condemn my actions, but at least I have tangible__…"_

_The snapping noise was only audible to the two, as Scalpel__'__s weapon, concealed under his medical jacket, activated, the spike in one end shooting up and directly through Lieutenant Son__'__s chin, and beyond. The wide look of surprise in the treacherous alien__'__s eyes was mirrored in Nigicalnack__'__s own._

"…_results?__"__ Lieutenant Son said, before his body went limp._

_Nigicalnack could just stare at the corpse for a moment, before his mind started to race. All the possible bad outcomes flooded through his mind as he pulled himself away from the body, his breathing starting to become heavy._

_He__'__d killed one of his own kind. Even in self-defense, that was some mother__'__s son, some wife__'__s husband, some children__'__s father. Worse, there was a fair chance that the Lieutenant__'__s wound would be examined and found not to match the enemy__'__s weapons. Once it was identified as a Blacktrinian weapon, they would try and trace whose. No one in the Empire looked on a Blacktrinian killing their own with any kind of positive view: in fighting, that just made the Empire weaker. And if Nigicalnack__'__s suspicions for how Lieutenant Son worked were true, it was unlikely that they would turn up any true evidence of what he__'__d done, sending who knows how many Blacktrinians off in a suicidal charge so he could pretend to turn the tide and win glory._

_Nigicalnack would be considered the traitor. He would suffer the consequences. The terrible consequences__…_

_The weight, even if it was metaphysical, became too much, and Nigicalnack fell__…__as his clawed hand brushed the smooth metal of the stolen beam weapon of Lieutenant Son._

_Nigicalnack stared another second, before scooping the weapon up, the flowing organic lines feeling alien to him. The power of the firearm still hummed within its grip, and Nigicalnack shot his eyes from said weapon to his commanding officer._

_What else was there to do? He aimed the weapon at the commander__'__s head, as said gun charged up with a high-pitched whine._

_No glory for this creature. Just another casualty._

_More than one, really. Even after erasing the evidence of his __'__crime__'__, Nigicalnack was never the same. He__'__d hated war already, but he__'__d tried to make the best of it, going into medical training and trying to save soldier__'__s lives. Lieutenant Son__'__s actions were the straw that broke the camel__'__s back. It would define the rest of his life, as he would give up entirely and abandon his Empire, seeking all the possible worse fates elsewhere._

_He__'__d suffered a fair bit for his choice. But if you__'__d asked him now, the Titan who called himself Nigel Hastings, aka Scalpel, would have never taken another._

**Some things never stop.**

"_**Robrostra Son of Blacktrinia, RISE.**__**"

* * *

**_

Scalpel hated the Tower's alarms. Even after efforts by his teammates in trying to alter the pitch specifically for him, Scalpel always found the noise they made more irritating than helpful.

However, Scalpel hated bad surprises more, and hence was both alarmed and immensely annoyed when he felt the Tower suddenly shake.

"What the hell was-" Scalpel said, and THEN the alarms went off. Scalpel grimaced, picking up his hat and shoving it on his head, pushing it down hard in the vain hopes it would do something for his aggravation.

"We're under attack?" Sophie said, looking up from her work.

"Seems to be. Let's go." Scalpel said, as he ran to his weapon closet while Sophie tried to make the transition back to Morgue.

"Titans, this is Scalpel. We've been attacked. Confirm?" Scalpel said into his communicator. He got no answer. "I repeat, we ARE under attack, right?"

No response still.

"…that can't be good." Scalpel said.

* * *

Scalpel's assessment was about as far beyond an understatement as one could get.

Really, there was noword for what Savior was experiencing. Bad didn't even come close. In fact, he was pretty much at a loss for words, like someone had clawed out his voice box.

"What's wrong Noel?" Crystal said, her black funeral dress drifting around her. "I thought you'd be overjoyed to see me. After all the years you've spent alternating between defining your life by me and trying to replace me."

Noel couldn't hear the whimpering sob he made over the sound of the blood roaring in his ears. All the planning and training he'd done, all the possible scenarios he'd tried to conceive of where the enemy could get to him…he wanted to say he hadn't considered this. But he had, albeit not in depth.

It didn't matter. Everything had come crashing down the second the realization had hit him.

"Your features are changed, Noel." Crystal said, raising a hand. "However…I can still see what's true."

The black ring flashed. The twin spears that rammed through Noel's personal armor and his shoulders managed to finally shock some sense back into him by the 'virtue' of sheer pain. His scream echoed through the room, as the Shimmer surged up to try and help its master to escape.

More blades of black flew out, slicing through the Shimmer and sending new waves of agony exploding through Noel.

The bitterest truth was, even that degree of physical pain couldn't match what was clawing through Noel's heart, as Crystal pulled him towards her via the rooted black lines in his shoulders.

"YOU, however, have lived your whole life based on a LIE." Crystal rasped. "You think I wanted some hero son looking to spend his life in glorified flagellation to atone for some saintly mother? You stupid waste of skin, you were a tool! A technique to get what I wanted from your father! The only way I was able to love you was because he struck first and damaged my brain badly enough!"

"No…"

Crystal nearly broke Savior's jaw in half with her punch, cackling wickedly as his head snapped back before sagging limply. He was not unconscious. She was not that kind.

"And when he finally gets around to killing me, what do you do? You run off! Not only did you not get a drop of anything _good _from me, you couldn't even manage to wring something worthwhile out of the other half of your genes! You had to be mutated into this state to get the balls to do anything! Even then, you can't even take the plunge and try and avenge me without someone kicking you in the ass! Which you failed at, again, spectacularly, and convinced yourself that was a GOOD thing!" Crystal said, grabbing Noel by the hair and yanking him up. "Your whole life is a lie, you idiot. You should thank your bastard father, because he's the only reason you ever got a drop of love out of me. What you call love anyway. I call it a lobotomy. Your brain's not even worth that. I'll just take the heart you hold so dear for me instead…"

"Sorry."

Crystal whirled around, aiming her ring and firing a spray of rending claws. It ripped apart the floating cloak and the wall behind it, and Crystal laughed delightedly…

Before she realized she'd just shredded a cloak. And nothing else. When she turned back to face Noel, she found herself looking into two wholly new eyes.

"It's mine." Raven said, and force-slammed Crystal backwards as hard as she could. Crystal impacted against the Tower wall, as Raven lashed out with one hand and cut the piercing binds she'd fired into Noel, even as she reached out with her other hand towards her enemy. The wall glowed black, and then ripped free and slammed down onto Crystal, sending her crashing into the Tower's depths with a furious roar.

"Noel. Noel." Raven said, grabbing the Titan as he slumped to the ground. "Don't listen. Come to your senses. That's not your mother."

Savior whimpered again, a sound so overflowing with hurt and shock that Raven would have never believed Noel could have made it.

"NOEL! Listen." Raven said, taking a moment to try and heal Noel's injured shoulders and jaw. Compared to the emotional torment she was getting force-fed via her close proximity to her lover, Raven barely noticed the stolen physical pain as she cleaned and closed the wounds. "These things want emotion. I was able to get a base scan of their rings. You weren't being told any truth, you were being manipulated to an emotional height so you could feed…SOMETHING. I don't know. You have to realize this, I KNOW you can! Please…don't let that THING do this to you."

Savior just looked at his long-time significant other, but she could tell from his eyes she was the last thing he was seeing. The thousand-yard stare.

Until a deep scream erupted from the bowels of the Tower. Her attacks hadn't slowed down Noel's false mother much.

"Come on." Raven said, pulling her cloak to her and reforming it with a quick spell as she began to drag Savior away.

Wondering if she'd ever be able to pull him free of what had just been done to him.

* * *

"_Titans, listen to me. It__'__s Raven.__"_

Scalpel jerked his head again, having just done so due to the scream he'd heard echoing in the building, his hands still on his newest weapon from the cabinet.

"What is it Raven? We hear you." Sophie said, even as she tried to get her belt cinched in.

"_I don__'__t know all the details of what__'__s going on, but look out! This is not a normal enemy!__"_

"When are they ever?" Scalpel said.

"_No! It__'__s worse! We__'__re being attacked by the dead!__"_

"…pardon?" Sophie said.

The wall in Scalpel's training room exploding, knocking Sophie over. A second later Scalpel was by her side, kneeling down with a growl as he glared at the smoke cloud.

"I am done begging anything, daughter dear."

"…the…dead?" Sophie repeated, as the literal nature of the warning sank in.

"_**Angila Elisa Mathews of Earth, RISE.**__**"**_

"…mother." Sophie said.

"So this is where you've been hiding. Behind a mask, in this little pit of an island?" Elisa said, gesturing around. "Does it help you forget, all that food and this freak of a mate? Because you certainly forgot me well! Let me just rot, while some blonde harlot waltzed in and destroyed my family! You fat, disgusting joke of a…!"

Sophie dissolved into a cloud of bats, swarming away from Scalpel. He could only gape, still shocked at the sudden appearance of what appeared to be a semi-decayed and blackened version of Sophie's mother. At least, what he assumed was Sophie's mother: he'd only seen her in pictures. She'd been very similar to Sophie, actually, though Angila's hair was longer and straighter, and her figure was much more proportioned and even than Sophie's pear shaped form, albeit straighter and more angular. She'd been a beautiful woman though, especially in regards to her face, with a gorgeous smile and eyes that could set a man's heart on fire. Raven had described her as having a very 'classical' look, which Robin had agreed with, saying she looked like she'd stepped out of the 50's.

All that was gone now. Her face was twisted and perverse, and her eyes burned with hungry malice. Scalpel had no words.

Morgue had no words either.

She had another answer in mind, as she reformed several feet away and pulled up the giant gun that had been knocked on the ground.

"No." Morgue said, and fired. The Black Lantern did not manage to form a shield before the miniaturized missile struck her and exploded, the blast consuming her with a scream.

"My mother had the kindest heart I've ever seen. And you talk to me like THAT?" Morgue growled, standing up with her gun. Normally, she had this weapon for robots and large machines, but the second she'd begun to process the Black Lantern's words, she hadn't thought twice about using it. "I'll destroy you for trying to poison her memory like this! Whatever _YOU _are! Scalpel! It's a fake! Destroy it! NOW! NOW!"

Scalpel didn't ask questions: the depth of the conviction in Sophie's words was enough. If she'd assessed this creature as that deep a threat that quickly…well, she'd always been a pretty smart cookie, especially after some of Robin's training.

Scalpel had his own training, and he put it to use, along with his brand new toy, as he charged towards the Black Lantern.

Angila Mathews took the seven-foot war hammer directly to the face, the 80-pound head ripping the upper half of her skull clean off. Scalpel whirled away, watching the Black Lantern.

Who laughed and fired several blades into him. Scalpel collapsed with a bellow.

"You really pick a fine choice in mates, you sow…" Angila said, looking towards Sophie as her head began to reform.

The pointed end of the war hammer's head smashed into Angila's chest, and Scalpel whirled around and smashed the Black Lantern into the floor. Another piercing black ray flew at him, but this time Scalpel was quicker on his feet, dodging the attack as he lifted Angila up and hurled her back through the wall she'd come out of.

"Always the same insults. I hope they never change. Easier to ignore." Scalpel said, his blood hissing on the ground.

Said ground exploded beneath Scalpel, and he fell into the garage below

"Indeed! Change is never a good thing! You certainly know that, don't you Corporal Hastionfarlock!" Spoke the new voice. Specifically, in the snarling rasp of Blacktrinia's native language.

"…Lieutenant Son." Scalpel said, as he looked at his former commanding officer, his outfit also blackened like the dress Angila had been wearing. Something Scalpel noticed, however, was that the symbols of the Blacktrinian military had been replaced with a new shape, which appeared to be some sort of downward-facing triangle.

"Your court martial has come at last, traitor and murderer! Do try and provide SOME AMUSEMENT!" Son laughed, and sent several dancing Blacktrinian blades flying at Scalpel from his ring.

Scalpel did not move immediately. Instead, he stood stock-still, and Robrosta Son laughed again: still a deer in the headlights.

His assessment was, once again, lacking.

Scalpel leapt, his hat flying off as he spun through the air. The blades all whirled around him, missing him completely. The Black Lantern gaped as Scalpel landed, plucking his hat as it fell down near him from the air and placing it back on his head.

"That's impossible!"

"No, Son. It's called change." Scalpel said, reaching out and seizing the sports car next to him. "Not always good. But it happens."

With a burst of strength, Scalpel hauled the car up into the air, tossing it upwards with one hand before he leapt and swung out with his hammer, sending the car flying towards Robrostra Son. The Black Lantern yelled and formed a shield, which managed to repel the car, barely.

"What is THIS? Where's the fear!" Son said, looking at the myriad colors that lay within Scalpel. Green, red, violet, blue…but little yellow. Far less than he'd expected.

"You came too late to the party Lieutenant. Maybe if you'd shown up before your fellow…and the warning…but once I started grasping what was going on, you showing up wasn't quite a big surprise as it would be."

"You weak little…"

"Surprise."

The missile flew down from the hole above Robrostra, consuming him in intense fire. A second later the sprinklers inside the garage floor went off, as a swarm of bats flew down from the hole Scalpel had fallen into and reformed near Nigel.

"Don't recall you mentioning him." Morgue said, her mask finally up and several weapons strapped to her body.

"Some people aren't worth mentioning."

"SOPHHHHHHHHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIE!" Angila shrieked as she flew down the same hole Scalpel and Morgue had used.

She did _not _manage to form a shield, as the jeep crashed into her. Robrostra managed to recover just in time for the jeep and his fellow Black Lantern to come crashing down on him. A moment later Sophie fired another micro-missile and blew up the second tossed vehicle, she and Scalpel ducking behind a third car to avoid the shockwave and shrapnel.

"If these things don't kill us, Robin will." Scalpel commented.

"We need to move Scalpel, I'd rather not destroy my home if I can avoid it!" Morgue said, wiping water off her mask.

"Agreed." Scalpel said, pulling Sophie up as he ran for the door.

His yell of surprise was choked off as he ran into the field of black.

"…sorry. Didn't have time for a warning." Raven said, as Scalpel and Sophie stumbled out of her cloak in one of the Titans' panic rooms. "You all right?"

"Been better." Scalpel and Morgue said at the same time.

"Get ready, we're not staying in here." Raven said, as she tried to heal Scalpel. Morgue glanced around, and her question died on her lips as she saw Savior sitting limply on the ground.

"…what's happening Raven?"

"We're being attacked by something that seems to replicate Green Lantern powers. They also have incredible regeneration abilities. And the worst part: they either animate the corpse or assume the form of someone who's passed on. I really can't tell. But the force is smart enough to pick out people who have a strong link to whoever they animate, and use it against them."

"…so…?" Morgue whispered.

"His mother. He didn't take it well." Raven said, as she finished up. "You seem to have handled it better. Keep that up, the last thing we need is…dead weight." Raven said, wincing at the term.

"Savior! You need to revive! Protect those still living from these entities!" Scalpel said, snapping his claws in front of his teammate, the action producing a few small sparks. He got no response, and not feeling like pussyfooting around, he jabbed Noel in the shoulder as firmly as he could without doing actual harm. That got a reactionary wince, but nothing else.

"Noel has gone bye-bye." Scalpel said. Morgue inhaled sharply through her nose. She'd known Noel had deeply loved his mother, but how badly he had been affected demonstrated just how strong an influence she'd had on him.

"What do we do Raven?"

"Meet up with the others." Raven said.

"Have they…?"

"Yeah." Raven said. She hadn't been so overwhelmed by Noel's pain to not know the rest of her team was in trouble. Likely from the same source.

"…bastards. Bastards." Morgue hissed.

The wall let out an agonized shriek, and a second later a black blade pierced through it, carving through the metal like an ordinary tin can.

"What can I say?" Crystal chuckled, forcing her way in. "HEEEEEEEEEEEREE'S MOMMY!"

The bullet exploded through Crystal's head. A second later Scalpel's fist impacted against Crystal's face as well, knocking the Black Lantern away.

"Lethal ammo?" Raven said, regarding Sophie's smoking gun.

"Seemed needed."

"Good assessment. Let's go." Raven said, as Scalpel darted over to Savior, picked him up, and dragged him over to Raven.

"Raven, I do hate to make this situation even worse…but this is animating dead people close to us. Good AND bad. What about your father?"

"No. Nothing's finding him. Not where I left him." Raven said.

"…all right. Let's go." Scalpel said, as Raven's cloak wrapped around the four. "We need to hurry. I don't want to think about how bad this must be for the others."

* * *

"…you." Gauntlet said. "………..who are you again?"

"Accursed spawn of Candide! Your irreverence will not save you!" One of the Black Lanterns, who could have once been a sickly man in his 50's wearing a lab coat, goggles and suffering from male pattern baldness. Of the other two, one seemed to be wearing a suit, and the other…was hard to describe. He wore some sort of uniform and a helmet that struck Rob as strangely familiar. The fact that all their clothes had been blackened made it hard to make out details.

"No, seriously, who are you people? You mentioned spawn of Candide…wait, are you those Nazi guys after Grandpa again? For the LAST time, WORLD WAR II IS OVER!"

"…I do not think he actually knows who we are." Suit said.

"ACCCURRSSEEEEEED CANDIDE! He dares not talk about his greatest foes to his brat?!" Strange Uniform said.

"Greatest enemies…oh! You're the guys who keep stealing our newspaper?"

"YOUR FATHER DESTROYED US, BRAT!" Labcoat bellowed. "But now, we have risen from the dead to take our revenge!"

"Okay, seriously, can we get some introductions? I want to know whose butt I'm kicking. It's just proper."

"DIE!" Strange Uniform yelled, as he thrust out his ring and a spray of small force bolts flew from it.

"YIPE!" Gauntlet cried, just managing to get his yellow energy shield up before he was perforated. Suit flew forward next, forming an old-style gun of black power and hammering larger shots into the shield, but Gauntlet held his ground.

Cipactli could only stare at the sight, as the three black forms unleashed their assault on the Titan Gauntlet. She'd known that the world that metahumans inhabited could be chaotic, but this…

This wasn't her business. She'd done her 'good deed'. It was time to bug out and take what…

"A girl!" Suit said, pointing at her. "He has a partner!"

"Not for long!" Strange Uniform said, as he surged away from his attack and went for Cipactli.

"Hey! Leave Chipoltle alone! You said you were after me!" Gauntlet yelled, trying to turn around and keep his shield focused at the same time.

"ALL LIFE WILL BE CLAIMED, FOOL!" Labcoat yelled, as he sent a slicing blade around Gauntlet's less-focused shield. Gauntlet displayed scary reflexes by leaping out of the way, the cutting edge grazing his shoulder and sending a scrap of cloth flying into the air.

Then Suit fired another blast, and the ground beside Gauntlet exploded, sending him flying into a computer bank and leaving Cipactli completely exposed.

"SHIT!"

"NO YOU DO-!" Was all Gauntlet got out, before the mechanics on Cipactli's right arm lit up and she thrust her arm at the three.

The air in the room distorted, and suddenly the three Black Lanterns slowed down to a crawl. Gauntlet blinked, before he finished pulling himself from the machine.

"WHHHHAAATTTTT IIIIISSSSS TTTHHHIIIIISSSSSSSSSS!" Strange Uniform hissed, his occasionally speech quirk completely overwhelming his normal talking ability, apparently due to whatever Cipactli had just used.

"Stasis field. Alters a localized area to drastically retard the progression of universal energies for a brief period."

"…you're cooking what for dinner?" Gauntlet said.

"It slows time to a crawl!" Cipactli snapped.

"…you're awesome." Gauntlet said.

"No, I would be awesome if I could maintain this state indefinitely. Not only can I not, this damn process locks up my armor!" Cipactli cursed, clearly unable to move.

"YOU CANNOT HOLD US FOR LONG! WE WILL GET YOU!" Labcoat yelled.

"Wow, I wonder where I heard that before…now make with the introductions!"

"You stupid child! How can you not know us? I am Dr. Carl Knott, master of all nuclear sciences! The man who REALLY invented the hydrogen bomb! The man who would RULE this pathetic world, if not for your thrice-damned father!" Labcoat aka Dr. Knott said.

"…wait, I thought that was Oppenheimer."

"WHO CARES WHO IT WAS? They used MY research! Anyone who says otherwise is telling OUT AND OUT LIES…!"

"Bored now. You are?" Gauntlet asked Suit.

"I am Scaramouche, the Man With The Platinum Pistol! I was the best of the best! Your father stopped me from killing the Queen. Indignity of indignity, he shot me with my own gun! Jezebelle and I want vengeance!"

"…did Ian Fleming ever try and sue you?"

"Who?"

"Strangely not surprised. Wait, there's my dad again…okay, what's going on? Did someone spike his coffee with the Infinitude Unguent again and de-age him to a teenager?"

"I think they're going after you instead of him, Gauntlet." Cipactli said.

"She is correct! Your father will pay more dearly than with his life, child!" Dr. Knott yelled. "We shall rip the heart from your body, and recruit you to our side! Then your mother! And then your father will know TRUE suffering!"

"………….You seem to think I'm easier to deal with than BULWARK. You purposely target the nice girl with the cool equipment. You threaten my family with slavery and death!" Rob snapped.

"Why are you still talking to them?" Cipactli grunted.

"Gotta say something pithy. It's what they expect."

"We should be RUNNING AWAY! This is MADNESS!"

"Madness…" Gauntlet said. "THIS-IS-the guy who fought Superboy-Prime and came out with all his limbs!" Gauntlet said, pointing to himself. "Which is more than some people can say!"

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Achoooo!" Cody Driscoll sneezed.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Well, I'm going to kick your zombie asses and fling your heads right at Cthulhu or whoever's in charge of you Technicolor lanterns! But first, you! Who are YOU?' Gauntlet said, pointing at Strange Uniform.

"I AM K.O.B.R.A KOMMANDER!" Strange Uniform said. With those words, Gauntlet abruptly recognized the uniform and helmet.

"…wait what? No that doesn't…how does…you can't…you don't look a thing like Kobra! I FOUGHT Kobra! Wait…yeah, I fought Kobra…not that I remember how it ended…in fact a lot of our adventures don't seem to end, but that isn't the point! We fought Kobra! You aren't Kobra! You're…Cobra! Which doesn't make a lick of sense!"

"Fool! We were the face of the original Kobra! That Burr is a liar! He wrecked everything with his Clay Yoga crap! I started that group to blow things up, I never said anything about snake worship and blood orgies! Orgies are fine the bloodless way, thank you very much…but then your father's accused organization destroyed my group before we could take our proper place in the world!"

"That's what happens when you get cocky and try and take out the Statue of Liberty your first time out." Dr. Knott said.

"SILENCE! THAT WAS THE WORST PART! THE WHOLE THING WAS WITNESSED BY SOME HOLLYWOOD EXECUTIVE AND HE STOLE MY ENTIRE CONCEPT AND USED IT TO REVIVE A TOY LINE!" KK bellowed. "ONCCCCCCEEEE I WASSSSSSSSSS A MAN! Now I am something more, and I WILL avenge that I am only remembered as a buffoon from a children's cartoon!"

"Oh! It all makes sense now! Wait, no it doesn't, that's needlessly complicated…oh who cares. Ooh! Ohh! Say 'Kobra, retreat!'"

"NO!"

"…Say 'I have morons on my payroll.'"

"WE WILL BE FREE!" KK yelled, and with a roaring cry the stasis field finally shorted out.

"Oops. Maybe I shouldn't have stood here so long yakking…"

"DIE!" The Black Lanterns yelled, as they fired black beams of doom at Gauntlet.

"CURSE MY NATURAL SHOWMANSHIP!" Gauntlet yelled, forming a shield once more.

The shield held up under the attack.

Rob's stance did not, as he was hurled backwards through more computer banks and out the warehouse wall. He bounced a few times onto the street, briefly seeing little Titan symbols on wings flying around his head before shaking it off and standing up. He swiftly noticed that Cipactli had either been pulled out with him or immediately followed, as she was crouched down beside him.

"Hey Chiropracty! Uh, Chipolini! Chin Pact Li! Sipping Straw? …Kip! Are you all right?"

"Why did you do this?" Cipactli said, even as she tapped at her arm. "You could have carried me away, put distance between us and them…instead you stood and rambled at them! Just making them angrier! What is WRONG with you?!"

"I don't know if distance would really help. Zombies can always find you anyway."

"I am NOT dying here tonight." Cipactli growled, producing a small sword from behind her. "You? Really don't care!"

"Trust me. Dying's not on the menu." Gauntlet said, as he formed a golden katana. "Also, I can block anything and kill anything that bleeds."

"KOBRAAAAAAAAAAA!" Came the battle cry, and suddenly a score of black energy solders emerged from the building, the three Black Lanterns behind them, manifesting the army with their rings.

"Stop saying things! It just makes things worse!" Cipactli growled.

"Man, I wish I was on Gar's mission right now."

* * *

"Mom…" Beast Boy croaked out, as the hand flew towards him.

A hand of stone met it, stopping it in its tracks. Terra stared at the Black Lanterns for a second, her eyes darting from them to Beast Boy's horrified face.

"Stop hiding, you ungrateful brat!" Silas Stone yelled. "You wanted to die so badly when I saved you! I'm here to correct that mistake!"

Terra's eyes jerked from Beast Boy, to Silas, to Cyborg, whose own face was a mask of complete and utter terror. These things were…

They…

Terra knew she wasn't the smartest Titan, but she was able to figure this out well enough. In the eyes of the four Black Lanterns, her body's appearance turned scarlet.

"…you _bastards._" Terra said as her eyes burned gold. "Bastards bastards BASTARDS!!!!!!!!!!"

The entire street exploded, a hellish storm of dirt and rock, blowing the Black Lanterns away as they vanished in the clouds of dust. A chunk of rock flew above the chaos, the four Titans on it, as Terra briefly froze with shock, her golden gaze fading. She didn't know if the civilians had all gotten clear. She'd just lashed out…

"NO ESCAPE!"

Godsend erupted from the ground, blasting through the rock platform and sending all four Titans flying anew. He singled out Terra and went after her, his right arm consumed in tearing black energies.

"A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand…!"

Starfire grabbed Godsend by his dirt-covered hair, yanked him backwards, and slammed her fist into the Black Lantern's gut so hard Terra felt it in her teeth.

"BUT IT SHALL NOT COME NIGH THEE!" Starfire yelled, and blasted Godsend with another Starbolt, blowing him though a building.

Beast Boy was vaguely aware of strong arms grabbing him, and then his whole body shuddered as Cyborg landed feet-first on the ground. Beast Boy looked around in a daze for a second before looking at his best friend, who had caught him and saved him from a far worse landing.

"Vic…?" Beast Boy whispered. "Tell me it's just a nightmare. Tell me. Please."

Cyborg had no reply, just like he'd had none when confronted with his parents. In fact, his organic eye had completely lost focus. Beast Boy stared at the sight.

"No running away, son! Time to take your punishment!"

Mark Logan flew from the smoke, heading for the pair. Beast Boy felt his heart almost leap out of his throat, his lunch swiftly on its heels.

" -K YOU!" Was all he heard as a trail of directed stones smashed into Mark Logan and drove him into the ground. Terra landed in front of the pair, snapping her head towards Beast Boy, the fierce golden glow briefly fading as she locked eyes with him.

"…TERRA LOOK OUT!" Beast Boy yelled. Terra whirled around to just dodge several slicing disks, before she flattened Elinore Stone with another barrage of rock pieces. Silas came immediately afterward, swinging at Terra with a blade: she met it with a rock fist, and as said fist split in half Terra hurled both pieces into Silas' body. The ground beneath her erupted, carrying her into the air as she tried to draw the attention of the Black Lanterns.

Beast Boy could only watch. This wasn't right. He had been elected the leader, and all he could do was cower here on the ground…but it was his parents…his…but it couldn't be…

Cyborg jerked, and in his startled reaction Beast Boy fell out of his arms. He scrambled back up, looking at his friend.

"Vic?"

"Full sync engaged." Cyborg intoned.

"…what?"

"Computer interface has been tasked with complete operations at this time. Ability to improvise is limited: orders would be advantageous to Subject Titans survival." Cyborg said, the boisterous tone Beast Boy knew best about his friend completely gone, his voice flat and cold. Hearing that, Beast Boy finally realized why Cyborg had been so quiet.

He'd rarely seen this side of his best friend, the wholly machine side. The only time Beast Boy had seen it before had been when he'd been helping Cyborg with a few diagnosis' and improvements. Cyborg _could _enter it at will, but he hated to do so. He liked his human side, with all its flaws, bonuses, and most of all, emotions.

Then his parents had dragged themselves out of the grave and had confronted them with terrible proclamations. Beast Boy couldn't put into words how that had made him feel, but for his best friend…

Mark and Marie Logan had died in a boating accident. Beast Boy had felt guilt over the years for being unable to save them, but he knew now, after all that time and soul searching, that it was just a tragic accident that had caused them to die. Victor's mother Elinore had died in the same science mishap that had injured Victor so badly he had been forced to assume his half-machine state; his father Silas had both caused the accident through a lack of observation and rebuilt his son against his (revealed afterward) wishes. Cyborg had hated his father afterwards, feeling like a freak and letting his dad know it. They had only reconciled at the last minute, and Cyborg, in his darker moods, sometimes mused to Beast Boy how glad he was that he had, before his father had died thinking his son loathed him.

For Cyborg to be confronted in the same way…

It had been too much. The tidal wave of emotion, the human part of himself Victor had held so dear…he hadn't been able to handle it. He'd shut it down, turning all his functions over to his computer. Even catching Beast Boy had been done on auto-pilot. These creatures had, quite literally, kicked his soul into a box.

With a cry, Terra crashed down nearby, as Marie Logan flew down towards her with a scything blade.

"…shoot her!" Beast Boy managed to spit out.

Cyborg's sonic cannon blasted Marie Logan away from Terra, as Beast Boy scrambled over to her.

"…Cyborg! Focus on yourself! Protect yourself!" Beast Boy yelled, as he knelt down by Terra. "You all right?"

"Are you?" Terra said, a bit banged-up but otherwise fine. She saw the mask of pain flash over Beast Boy's face, even as Cyborg ran and leapt into the sky, delivering a fierce punch to Godsend's back as he brawled in the air with Starfire. Her heart went out to him. No one deserved this. At least she'd gotten an enemy.

The worst part was, Beast Boy knew these things weren't his parents. It wasn't enough. It was tearing him apart from inside.

…he had to deal with it.

Over the years, Beast Boy had learned many subtle aspects of his powers he rarely used. Some were too troublesome to use in the heat of battle, some were more then compensated by other, more practical abilities, and some just outright disturbed him.

This, however, disturbed him more. He was the leader. He had to think, or at least act. So…just for now…

"…I'll…" Beast Boy said, as he focused…and felt the emotion starting to slide away. Felt primal instinct and cold logic supplant it. Beast Boy had once said that if he had to, he'd consult an animal to think.

When it came to survival, nothing much topped the brain of the shark.

All it cost him…was him.

"Beast Boy?" Terra said.

"Not our parents. Not our parents!" Beast Boy growled, crouching down on the ground and turning into a tiger.

"You freak." Mark Logan said, floating back down. "I should have let you die."

"LIARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!" Beast Boy roared, throwing himself at his father. Mark Logan chuckled and fired a barrage of black spears.

Beast Boy turned into a sparrow, dodging through the attacks before becoming a velociraptor and lashing out with a taloned foot, ripping Mark Logan's throat open. Terra stared in shocked surprise at this abrupt 180 degree change, as Beast Boy landed and whirled around.

Mark Logan chuckled, as the wound closed up within two seconds.

"You can't even win as the abomination I made of you."

"SHUT UPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP!" Beast Boy roared, turning into a T-Rex and lunging forward once more. Terra kept staring…

"You're a poor replacement." Marie Logan whispered in Terra's ear.

The blade would have pierced right through Terra's spine, had she not reacted on instinct and thrust the rock out behind her straight up. Instead, the black bayonet skimmed off Terra's head, slicing open the skin beneath her hair.

"POOR THIS!" Terra yelled lamely. Her offense made up for her failed quip, as a rock flew into Marie Logan's face, knocking her backwards. Terra flew backwards…and Elinore Stone found her ambush thwarted in turn, as another rock flew from a weird angle and smashed her into the ground.

Terra changed direction and flew upward, blood stinging her eyes as it soaked through her blonde hair, turning it scarlet red. The same red that bloomed within her.

"GODDAMN ZOMBIE ENERGY BASTARDS _THINGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"_

The gigantic arrows of rock rained down on the battlefield, and more of Jump City crumbled into dust.

The racket swallowed the sounds of the Black Lanterns' laughter.

* * *

_All right. So they decided to throw all of Kobra at me. No problem! I'll just jump in the middle of them and their bad aim will cause them to shoot themselves instead of me!_

The only thing that saved Gauntlet from experiencing what some unfortunate zombie film victims did was the spring in his step: no sooner had he leapt off the sidewalk, run across the nearby wall, and dropped into the mass of soldier replications than they stopped shooting their guns and whirled on him, becoming a mass of savage beasts. Gauntlet yelped and lashed out with his weapon, knocking as many as he could away before jumping free.

He didn't like to admit it, but only his weapon's innate protection mode saved him from the killshot that Black Lantern Scaramouche fired at him, a shield of yellow energy surging out and turning the skull-shattering attack into just a blow to the side of Gauntlet's head. He crashed down to the sidewalk, knocking over a mailbox in the process.

"Son of a…ACK!" Gauntlet yelped as Scaramouche fired more blasts at him, forcing him to scramble across the street.

"Get him my minions! Crush him! Destroy him! Wipe him off…what?" KK said as a blazing white blast tore through his chest. "Who dares!"

Cipactli was not Gauntlet: she just blasted K.O.B.R.A Kommander in the head with her cannon. The Black Lantern collapsed, but his minion creations continued her way. She fired the same gun into the minions: unfortunately, her ammo ran out before they did.

"Shit." Cipactli said, reaching up and pressing a button on her helmet. The lenses of her creation flashed, white light streaming out in a widening blast that blew apart the ring-creations. Not all of them though, and Cipactli said a very bad word under her breath even as she held out her arm, dropping her empty laser/plasma weapon. The rear part of her armor detached and was carried down to her forearm, forming a small shield that she used to block the attack and kick her immediate foe away.

A yellow energy sword slashed down, cutting the second one in half. Cipactli didn't bother acting stunned, she'd known Gauntlet was coming. She had very refined scanners.

Gauntlet ripped through a few more minion constructs, while Cipactli lashed out with her own small sword and decapitated the last one. She had no idea why such moves were actually WORKING, considering she was cutting energy creations instead of living mooks. She chalked it up to having blasted the manifester and decided not to ask any more questions.

"Ohhh, nice work there! Everyone's obsessed with katanas these days: not often you see someone with a ninjato." Gauntlet said, commenting on Cipactli's weapon.

"…you actually know what this is?"

"Oh sure, mom's a ninja. I never learned a lot, but she liked to talk about the old days." Gauntlet said. "Oh, you have a wrist blade too. Doubling up is always good."

"…yes." Cipactli said, in regards of the crescent-shaped blade placed on the outside part of her sword-arm's wrist, essentially giving her two slashes for the price of one.

"Though not the sort of thing you want to use against non-zombies. You could put an eye out…and the part of the head around the eye too."

"You could do a lot more than that with just a sword."

"Well yeah, that's true. But like they say, he who lives by the sword dies by-"

"LOOK OUT!" Cipactli yelled, diving away from Gauntlet. A second later Dr. Knott slammed into the Titan and carried him away.

"Blabbering on like this is some social event! What do they see in him!" Cipactli muttered, as she turned and blasted a few more Black Lantern constructs apart with her helmet weapon.

"THINK FAST FLE-" Scaramouche managed to get out before Cipactli's glass plate snapped backwards over her head and fired, blowing through Scaramouche's gun-construct. Even as he was disarmed, Cipactli reached into a pouch on her side and whirled, hurling several small box-shaped projectiles through the air. Each ignited on one end, and Scaramouche was swiftly sliced to pieces by the brief airborne web of emitted lasers.

"I do." Cipactli said simply, her faceplate snapping back into place. She promptly spun, lanced her ninjato short sword under a minion construct's chin, and yanked its length out through the minion's face. The fact that that didn't slow it down made her realize the Kommander was recovering, and she blasted the minion for good measure.

"Human GERM!" Dr. Knott yelled as his ring formed numerous beakers that were hurled by black skeleton arms. Gauntlet was a bit confused about how energy constructs could mimic the act of throwing an acidic solution on something, but when it came right down to it he didn't want to know what it felt like, poor mimicry or not.

"Hah! You throw like an astrophysicist!" Gauntlet said, dodging away.

"YOU FOOL! I will make your father regret all the more NEVER SPEAKING ABOUT ME!"

"Well…really! What was your personal scheme?"

"I planned to poison the children of the world by using lead paint in their toys!"

"Wow. Ugh, that's pretty bad. Were you successful?"

"No, I wasn't!" Dr. Knott yelled as he slashed out with a construct scalpel. Gauntlet parried it, dodged, grabbed the nearest car with gauntlet energies, and swung it into Dr. Knott's side, crushing him between the car and the stone building behind him.

The thing that annoyed him the most was that Dr. Knott blasted the car away and re-emerged a half-broken mess, albeit still functioning, before Gauntlet could think up something witty to say.

"…What? You didn't? What about that scare a few years back?" Gauntlet said, deciding to press the conversation topic instead.

"I died in 1987!"

"Oooh. Wow, that's kind of sad that your massive plan was carried out by accident where you failed."

"YOUR DEATH SHALL BE SLOW AND PAINFUL!"

"Blah blah blah, it's wrasslin' time! TITANS, GO…man I never get to yell it when it counts. Wait. TITAN, GO!" Gauntlet yelled, leaping out towards Dr. Knott. Dr. Knott formed a giant clawed hand, and Gauntlet matched it with his own as their appendages locked together.

"One two three four, I declare a thumb war! Uh, thumbs back! Thumbs attack! Break your back! Uh…I got twosies?" Gauntlet said, confusing himself. Dr. Knott just responded with a yell, as his own hand overwhelmed Gauntlet.

"Hey! No fair! No one's even told me the rules of whether electric beats water or-!" Gauntlet managed to get out before the hand smashed him into the ground. He hissed under his breath, compacting the energy to keep his sides from being torn open from Dr. Knott's ripping fingers.

The doctor improvised. Specifically, by yanking Gauntlet up off the ground and swinging around, smashing him along the length of another building.

"ARRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGH!" Gauntlet yelled, as he was first hammered through the building and then tossed down the street towards another store. "PLEASE BE FULL OF PILLOWS! PLEASE BE FULL OF PILLOWS!"

CRASH!

"Owwwwwwwwwwww…why don't battles ever take place next to Bed, Bath, And…Beyond…"

Gauntlet realized where he was, and a wicked grin broke over his face.

* * *

Starfire thought she felt a rib break as Godsend smashed a kick into her side. She was too focused to care, as she fired emerald beams from her eyes, aiming for Godsend's ring hand.

She hit it, burning it down to the bone. Much to her lack of surprise, the ring remained, and the flesh swiftly returned.

"Your hell-spawned talents mean nothing to me, demon! I speak for God, and he is angry!"

"You speak for something, but it's not God. And if you wish to see rage, I will gladly…"

It was about then that Cyborg did his leaping punch. It was successful…to a degree, as it knocked Godsend right into an unprepared Starfire.

"BY THE NAME!" Godsend yelled, forming another flaming sword and slashing for Starfire's torso. Starfire sacrificed her leg instead, pushing back and firing off a kick that barely deflected the attack, at the cost of a burning wound. She fired a spray of Starbolts into Godsend, knocking him backwards. Trying to fight through the pain, Starfire flew down to Cyborg.

"Friend Cyborg? Are you all right?"

"Target error. This unit issues sincere apologies." Cyborg said. Starfire stared. "Orders are to protect self. Target Godsend known to possess greatest powers before death and return. Godsend priority threat."

"What have they done to you?" Starfire said.

"He did it to himself, alien." Silas Stone said, lowering down. "He ran away. Couldn't take it. I tried so hard to make him strong. I'm done."

"Much like your friends." Godsend said, joining Silas. "You claim you are not demons? Look around you."

Starfire stared once more, and then looked around at the chaos that had been wrought. At Beast Boy's incredible savagery. At Terra's out of control rage. At Cyborg's blank slate features.

"You certainly are not human." Godsend said. "The weaknesses of the flesh."

Starfire lowered her head, her knuckles cracking as she made a fist. Solar energy erupted onto it.

"You…think…us…weak?" Starfire said quietly. "You are wrong. YOU ARE ALWAYS WRONG!"

The explosion of the Starbolt shook the street, but both Black Lanterns dodged it, flying towards the pair of Titans. Cyborg armed his sonic cannon and fired once more, blasting away at his Black Lantern father while Godsend went for Starfire. She met him in mid-charge, her fist striking with such force she broke both his jaw and his neck.

Unfortunately, this did not have the same effect it would have had on a normal opponent, and Godsend completed his vicious uppercut, smashing Starfire into the air. He flew up after her, laced his hands together, and smashed Starfire back into the ground, the alien hammering a new crater into the landscape.

"All go unto one place; all of are the dust, and all are dust again." Godsend said, and plunged into the crater. Seconds later more explosions erupted inside it.

"Teammate Starfire in danger. Orders to protect self. Unit must protect self…aid requested. Time inadequate. More aid requested…no response. General aid requested…unit must now…error…unit must…unit's orders…are…" Cyborg stammered.

The spiked fist smashed into Cyborg's chest, knocking him down and tearing into the metal part of it. No sooner had he hit the ground then Silas crashed down on him from above.

"Worthless. A waste of the parts I used on you." Silas hissed. "You cannot hide your emotion from me, _son."_

"Opponent is not father. Readings indicate-cate-cate-cateeeeeeeeeeeeeee…" Cyborg babbled, his mechanical eye flashing.

"Shhhhh, shhhhh." Silas whispered, grabbing Cyborg's jaw and forcing it shut. "No more talk."

"Except perhaps a lullaby." Elinore said, as she appeared in Cyborg's vision and manifested a whirling blade. "For your last sleep. Hush little baby, don't say a word…"

Cyborg didn't. His only reaction was a lone tear leaking down his face.

"Momma's gonna buy you a mockingbird…"

Cyborg's foot lanced up, his backup sonic blaster igniting. It didn't hit either of the Black Lanterns, but the sudden blast blew him backwards along the ground and out of Silas' grip. Cyborg ricocheted off some rubble, flipped, and landed on his feet.

"That is IT." Cyborg snarled, his voice back to normal. He hadn't wanted to face this. It was perhaps the cruelest thing he'd ever been faced WITH. But his computer couldn't keep up with the combat…

And worse, it didn't care about his friends. It tried to protect them because that was what it was ordered to do. With Beast Boy giving the order to protect himself, it had become confused and less and less efficient. And his friends were being hurt because of it.

Between that and this agony, the real choice became clear. Cyborg's only regret was that he'd had to make it at all.

"AND MOM SANG BAA BAA BLACK SLEEP ASSHOLES!"

The sonic blast blew Silas backwards, and Cyborg leapt out of the way of Elinore's crushing energy bludgeon before he fired off a swarm of mini-missiles from his shoulders. Elinore exploded, and Cyborg would have immediately run to Starfire's aid…had Godsend not come down from the sky and hurled Starfire into Cyborg, knocking them both backwards and sending them tumbling across the rubble.

At the same time, Marie Logan's giant black fist smashed through Terra's defenses, sending her plummeting to the ground. Beast Boy only saw her due to his enhanced predator's vision. His primal mind should have ignored her.

It was not strong enough.

"TARA!" Beast Boy yelled, abandoned his assault as he turned and leapt, transforming into a gorilla in mid-leap. The grab was awkward, but Beast Boy's greater agility saved him from pulping himself as he landed.

"You all right?" Beast Boy asked.

"Heh. Still in there Gar." Terra replied.

"…always." Beast Boy said.

The twin black energy blasts sent them both flying once more, their cries intermingling.

"Till death do you part." Marie said, and gave chase.

Beast Boy stumbled up, trying to get back into the animal mindset. Moments later, Starfire and Cyborg crashed down nearby. Cyborg recovered more swiftly than his teammate, and he crouched down to guard her.

"This is not going super-well B." Cyborg said.

"Yeah I know. We need to…" Beast Boy said, as the Black Lanterns approached.

And stopped. There was a pregnant pause.

A new form crashed down near the Titans, which almost got it blasted as well. It took the Titans a second to realize it wasn't a Black Lantern. It took them another few seconds to realize just WHO it was.

"…MYTH?" Beast Boy said in surprise, as the bandanna and sleeveless trench-coat wearing mercenary managed to push his massive frame to his knees. Once, Myth had called himself the Sword of Justice and had tried to take out the Titans. That was several lifetimes ago.

"…heh. Looks like I made it…after all." Myth said, looking at the Titans. His face was marked by heavy scars, especially around the eyes. Beast Boy expected them to be heavier. He was pretty sure he'd clawed Myth's eyes out.

But, as said…that was a long time ago.

"What are you doing HERE? NOW?" Beast Boy said.

It hit him just before the new figure spoke. Myth had been one half of a whole once. Beast Boy knew that well: he'd dated the other half before Terra. Before Myth had made a terrible mistake in trusting another Titan enemy.

"He tried to run away from his responsibility." The voice said.

"_**Elisa Ashton of Earth, RISE."**_

"How fitting he runs to you." Charm said, lowering herself down. "I owe you all as well."

"…Elisa." Beast Boy said, looking at his former girlfriend, her once strong and proud features twisted by the same corrupting force that had awoken his parents.

"In the striking, rotten flesh." Charm said, and the nasty grin she wore pulled wider, becoming a fully fledged maw as she offered a throaty laugh.

"Oh damn it." Cyborg said, looking around. "What next?"

"You know the answer lover."

"…oh no." Cyborg said, as renewed dread filled him.

"_**Latrisha Dryce of Earth, RISE."**_

"You know it very well." Latrisha said. The brand that had mutilated her features had not faded when she'd been woken. "You bastard."

"Trish…oh no…no. Not again. Not again…" Cyborg said, lowering his head. His parents had been bad enough, and now his old girlfriend, murdered by the scum of the earth. Something that had gotten in the way of all his relationships since.

For a moment, he almost fled back into the box.

A moment later, his sonic cannon reformed.

"Not again. Go ahead. What else you got, assholes?" Cyborg said.

"Oh." Terra said in dull shock, and Cyborg realized that she was looking at someone entirely new.

"I am disappointed, Titans. I thought you'd expect me at least."

Cyborg hadn't, until he turned and looked. Remembered.

One last battle in an arctic wasteland.

And the ultimate demise that had befallen their enemy.

Until now.

"_**Slade Wilson of Earth, RISE."

* * *

**_

Cipactli had never been an apprentice of Slade's, but she'd learn a fair bit from where she _had _come from.

Then again, she'd never had to fight black energy creatures. But as said, she could think fast on her feet.

"KOB-!" The minion managed to get out before she bashed it in the face with her arm shield. Two more came at her from behind, and she spun around, weaving around their blows as she slashed out. Her ninjato cut deep, and she twisted her wrist as she slashed to follow up with her arm blade. Three quick motions cut the constructs into pieces, and she whirled and blasted K.O.B.R.A Kommander one more time. As long as he was recovering, his creations were flawed. Maybe if…

Cipactli whirled and held up her shield a second before Scaramouche blew her arm off with his gun-construct. The blow felt like it was going to pull her arm out of its socket regardless, as Cipactli stumbled and tried to recover. Minion mooks swarmed her, and she briefly panicked, slashing wildly as she tried to get free. The effort cost her her shield, the constructs ripping it off her arm as she pulled herself out of their crowd.

"A poor showing little strumpet!" Scaramouche said, aiming at her.

Cipactli fired as soon as he'd finished talking. Said talking had helped pinpoint his position, blowing him out of the air.

It also used up the power in her helmet battery.

"Shit." Cipactli said, as more minions streamed towards her. She brought up her ninjato and went to work.

It was almost artistic, the way the female tech-user danced into their mass and began slicing and chopping, her combination of sword and arm-blade used to expert perfection. Had she been faced with human opponents, she'd have downed them all without a scratch.

She just got the 'without a scratch' part, as the minions flowed back and reformed.

"Shitshitshitshitshitshit_SHIT!" _Cipactli cursed, as she fired with what she'd managed to regain of her helmet's battery power. The blast knocked down the first wave anew.

"You fool! You cannot stop the masses of KOBRA! YOU WILL BE FUEL TO THE GREAT-!" K.O.B.R.A Kommander yelled.

Cipactli threw her last laser-emitter at the controller of the minions. It sliced him in half. Cipactli glared around her, wondering if she had much in the way of options left.

The figure crashed down beside her. Cipactli whirled to face the arrival, somewhat shocked. How had he found the blind spot in her sensors?

"…my name…is Robert A. Candide…!" Gauntlet said…as the gauntlet's energies lifted up the many firearms he had liberated from the gun store Dr. Knott had thrown him into. "AND I-**HATE-**_**BABIES!"**_

Cipactli managed to activate her noise dampeners just before the explosion of sound slammed into her ears. She ducked down as Gauntlet unloaded a myriad number of handguns, shotguns, and sub-machine guns he'd found hidden in a box in the back into the minions. His bullets weren't as effective as Cipactli's helmet blasts, but he made up for that by having a lot more of them, as he shredded the minions and both of the Black Lanterns in a overwhelming barrage of firepower.

"And THAT'S how you deal with a zombie invasion!" Gauntlet said, as K.O.B.R.A Kommander's and Scaramouche's vivisected bodies squirmed on the ground.

"The last one!" Cipactli said.

"I know." Gauntlet replied, as he slammed all his shotguns together and aimed them behind them. Dr. Knott dropped into a one-unit explosion of buckshot, blowing him to bits.

"Don't fall to pieces on me." Gauntlet said in a deep Austrian accent. Or what Gauntlet THOUGHT was one anyway: reality had long been superseded by cheesy action films in that regard, most likely.

"…how did you know where…?" Cipactli said.

"I saw his reflection in your mask. It's nice and shiny. You must spend a lot on polish." Gauntlet said. Cipactli cocked her head. "What? You thought I solved everything by hitting it until it falls down? Well, that often works…"

"…you did not strike me as…efficient." Cipactli said.

"Oh god, now you sound like Savior." Gauntlet groused. "I'll just say this. I became a Titan by accident, but that doesn't mean I don't know my way around a super battlefield. I've got about as many notches on my belt _as _Savior; I didn't make it this far just by cracking jokes."

Cipactli was silent.

"So Kip, I can guess that you didn't take a swing at me because you have some fancy scanning gear in that setup. So tell me, do you have ANY idea what could be used to _keep _these bastards down?"

"…no." Cipactli said, as she turned and looked at the regenerating Black Lanterns.

"Damn. How are you doing for weaponry?"

"Not good."

"Flesssssssssssssssssssssh." KK hissed.

"Damn. I wish I had something super-special heroic to say, like 'Go, save yourself'…but honestly, I could use the help." Gauntlet said. "Not to mention I don't think they'll be letting you run."

"…I didn't sign up for this." Cipactli said, pulling the smoking battery from her helmet weapon and shoving her lone remaining one in.

"We never do." Gauntlet said, as he dropped most of his empty guns and rolled his knuckles on his weaponized hand. "On the plus side, at least they're not pseudo-philosophers like the Lord of the Night."

* * *

"Well Titans. It certainly has been a long, strange trip." Slade Wilson said, looking down on the four battered Titans surrounded by Black Lanterns.

"…what gives?" Terra said. "Did we win some sort of anti-lottery? Why are you all going after US?"

"I would say the answer is very obvious, Miss Markov." Slade said, gesturing to his fellow Black Lanterns. He was not wearing his trademark mask, and his strangely pristine white beard stood shockingly against the black rictus of his face. "You are facing the sins and failures that define you. Do not be surprised they number so many."

"…shut up." Starfire said.

"Pardon?"

"Shut up, 'SLADE'." Starfire snapped. "We didn't kill you. We even tried to save you. YOU chose to die. YOU don't get to decide our fate. Not you, and not any of these creatures. No matter HOW many they are."

The Black Lanterns chuckled, a mirthless, cruel sound, as the four Titans looked around at their opposition.

"…they speak the truth." Myth said, finally getting to his feet, his tough skin scarred by wounds made by his Black Lantern sister. "I came here because they were the only people I thought that could help me with what came after me. Now I see I am not alone. I am just one of many targeted by this evil. I will fight."

"You will STILL die, brother. Die for what you did to me!" Charm yelled.

"I die a little each day for what I caused to befall you, Elisa." Myth said, cracking his knuckles. "But I will not die this day."

"You will. ALL will." Godsend said. "Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea, for the devil has come down unto you, having great wrath."

"You left out the end part of that, Morton. 'Because he knoweth that he hath but a short time'." Beast Boy said. "I'm not one for scripture, really. I settle for TITANS, GO!"

The four Titans sprang forth, blasting with sonic, star bolts, and rock. Beast Boy slipped back into the savage animal mind, transforming into an extinct _Andrewsarchus mongolianis_ and lunging for Black Lantern Slade.

The battle was brutal…and far, far too swift. An overwhelming barrage of cruel ebony blades and bludgeons flew from eight black rings, meeting and surpassing the Titans' desperate offense. Within several seconds they'd all been driven back into a pack, blood flowing freely from several new wounds.

"I vowed that I'd see you all dead. In a way, this is better." Slade said, raising his hand as a sword formed in its grip.

Before his lone eye turned skyward.

The black rain of energy bolts slammed down onto the undead forces, explosions consuming them as they screamed in rage. Several tried to recover, only for twin figures to drop down and lash out with hammer and gun, blasting them away.

"Well well well, looks like we got here just in time! What does that make us Morgue?" Scalpel said.

"Big damn heroes, sir!"

"Ain't we just." Scalpel said, and grabbed Morgue as he leapt over to the four Titans. Blackness consumed them, the alien falling into it and vanishing without a trace. A moment later, darkness bloomed on a distant skyscraper roof, and the Titans re-appeared.

"Oh Raven! I love you! Love you!" Terra said, hugging her dusky teammate furiously.

"Terra…you're bleeding on me."

"Oh. Sorry!" Terra said sheepishly. Raven fixed Terra's cut scalp with a gesture, trying to focus through the fresh, burning pain that briefly bloomed on her head before she turned to the now-assembled Titans.

"Raven. You came. Your arrival is most joyously received." Starfire said, though her face indicated just about anything BUT joy.

"Yeah, took you guys long enough." Cyborg said.

"We…ran into trouble."

"Oh crap. Your dad?"

"No…not him." Raven said, and Cyborg finally noticed Savior hanging limply over Raven's shoulder.

"Aw shit." Cyborg said, heading over to Savior. "Noel, snap out of it."

"My mother…" Savior whispered.

"NO. That's not her. You know it, deep down. Reach in, and pull that out, no matter how much it hurts. The alternative is worse."

The black beam flew out, piercing through Cyborg's chest and driving him back with a scream. Unidentified fluids splashed on Savior's face.

"I beg to differ, machine." Crystal Collins said, floating nearby with Elisa and Robrostra at her side.

"Cyborg!" Beast Boy said, running to his friend's side.

"I'm okay…it missed the vitals…ow." Cyborg coughed, as the mechanical liquid began slowing its flow from within him.

"You will not escape this time, traitor!" Son yelled.

"I could say the same for you, lieutenant." Scalpel said, as he reached into his coat and pulled out his glaive, extending it into its full length. "It figures. As soon as you stop using the sword, along comes someone who needs it."

"…who are you?" Morgue said, looking at Myth.

"A bad cliché." Myth said.

"…uh…k. Are you on our side?"

"No." Nigel said.

"Figure it out later, KICK ASS NOW!" Terra yelled, ripping the stone of the roof out from under her and flying at the three Black Lanterns.

"TERRA NO!" Starfire screamed.

Raven just managed to pull Terra back with her own dark energy claw before the blades of black sliced her to pieces. More spears and blasts rained down around the Titans, driving them back again as the other Black Lanterns arrived, surrounding the Titans anew.

"…I think I liked the frying pan more. Can we go back there?" Terra said, her eyes darting around from her close call.

"And I looked, and he opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake. And the sun became as black as sack cloth, and the moon became as blood. And the seas boiled, and the sky fell." Godsend said.

"Know when you've won, Titans." Slade said, as the Titans (and Myth) stood, ready to fight as best they could. "You've lost."

The Black Lanterns charged.

Darkness consumed the Titans.

* * *

A strange darkness.

A new darkness.

"He's right you know. Just not in the way he thinks."

The Titans jerked as they realized the roof, and the Black Lanterns, were gone. They were in a floating void.

Being spoken to by a familiar voice, as Raven turned around.

For a second, Terra swore she saw Raven's eyes turned red. Both pairs, the second appearing and vanishing within a second.

"_**YOU."**_

"Hello blackbird." The Lord of the Night said. "Welcome to the only hope in hell you've got."

* * *

"_The past is not dead__…__it__'__s not even past.__"_

-William Faulkner

_**To be concluded October 31**__**st**_


	4. Tomorrow Never Dies

Part 4: Tomorrow Never Dies

_Death be not proud, though some have called thee_

_Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so,_

_For those, whom thou think__'__st, thou dost overthrow,_

_Die not, poor death, nor yet canst thou kill me__…_

…_death, thou shalt die._

-John Donne, _Holy Sonnets_, X

"_Turn up the lights, I don__'__t want to go home in the dark.__"_

_-_The last words of author William Sidney Porter

* * *

_There's an old folk poem that talks about crows. It has several variants, but this is the one I remember._

_**One crow sorrow/Two crows mirth/Three crows a wedding/Four crows a birth/Five crows silver/Six crows gold/Seven crows a secret/Which must never be told.**_

_I remembered it specifically because a few days after Halloween last year, I saw seven crows._

_The Lord. He arranged the whole thing. He killed my teammates. He poisoned the mind of the man I love to do it. They're only alive because of me. Of the price I paid. I have to carry that secret. I can't tell anyone. It will destroy us._

_Now he's here, claiming that he's the only chance we have against these THINGS that have taken the shape of our dead loved ones. Monsters who want to torment before they murder, the emotion feeding some terrible dark force._

…_and the worst part is, I think he's right._

…_yesterday, I saw a single crow. Apparently there's been a large influx of them in Jump lately. No apparent (malicious) reasons._

_I should have taken it as a warning._

_The sorrow of this day hasn't yet reached its peak.

* * *

_

Raven was not the type to scream.

Overall, she was generally quiet, only raising her voice when it was really called for and rarely otherwise. And when she did jack up the volume, it tended to be general yelling, or thundering ancient words or her personal mantra as she struck down wickedness.

None of the Titans could ever recall hearing her scream.

None of them would ever forget the noise she made when she realized just who had rescued them, part human rage and part shrieking of a prey-hunting bird. Her soul-self immediately manifested around her, an avatar of destructive wrath as she flew at the Lord.

"Right then." The Lord said, and held out his hand.

Raven lanced out with claws and force bolts, as the Lord fired his own jagged black lightning. The attacks met, and intense pressure slammed into the surrounding Titans and villains, even as the air started whirling around the two.

Morgue's attention was as riveted to this sudden event as much as any of her teammates, but the fact that Savior had been shoved into her arms allowed her to see the other thing, as Savior's weight on her suddenly lessened. She flicked her eyes in his directions and saw that the dullness seemed to be going out of his.

"I suggest you stop little bird! You're wasting precious time!" The Lord said. Raven just screamed louder and kept up her onslaught.

"All right then." The Lord said, as his eyes went from simply black to blazing voids, even as he held up his other hand. Raven suddenly felt a claw of ice go around her heart, her rage abruptly disappearing. She was not calming down though, as the Titans saw a red mist start to get literally pulled out of her body. The Lord was literally sucking her anger away.

Morgue felt Savior tense up.

However, he was not needed. Raven was not the average person nor a damsel in distress.

"NO." She hissed, her soul-self contracting around her as she changed her hand position. The red mist stopped and began to be drawn back into Raven's body. For a second, it seemed like the Lord was going to fight with her over it, but in the end he just lowered both his hands, ceasing both attacks. Raven retrieved her emotion and landed, the anger she'd retrieved immediately visible in her eyes.

A second later several of the Titans were beside her, aiming weapons at the Lord.

"…Parlay?" The Lord said, raising his open hands.

The Titans looked at each other a second. Then they hit the Lord anyway.

The Starbolt, sonic cannon, retrieved-from-jacket rock shard, burst of gunfire, and Shimmer lash succeeded in knocking him off his feet. That didn't mean much, as he was standing up within a second, none the worse for wear save for Starfire's attack, which had left a smoking mark on his chest.

"Oh do please go ahead. Keep attacking me. Waste all your energy so your real enemy can kill you with ease."

"Your proposition is acceptable." Starfire said, and fired another Starbolt into the Lord's face.

"Whoa! WHOA! Hold it Star! Hold it everyone." Beast Boy said, using a dead-serious tone that came out of him once in a blue moon. "We're all having a very bad day. Let's not make it worse."

"ARE YOU KIDDING?" Cyborg erupted. "THAT'S THE LORD! HE'S KILLED MILLIONS! HE WANTS US ALL DEAD!"

"Then why are we still alive?" Savior said. Cyborg glared at Noel, and then did a double-take as he realized Savior was no longer curled in a fetal position staring into space. Now he just looked like he'd recently crossed about ten thousand miles of bad road. On his hands and knees.

"Listen to the mother's boy. It's the only-"

The Shimmer flew at the Lord. He caught it and threw it back at Savior. Savior could only stare in shock at this.

"Way any of you are going to survive." The Lord finished.

"You certainly bring out the best in people, Lord." Elijah said, finally showing himself. The Titans had been vaguely aware of shadowy figures behind the Lord, but he had seized their primary attention until now.

"…Elijah Versaw." Scalpel growled, sparks shooting from his claws as he tightened his grip on his weapon.

"He's not who you should be watching, fortunate one." Came the White Hole's voice, as she also tired of waiting in the background.

"…Rebecalnatrac…" Scalpel said, his angry tone now tinged with alarm. Morgue immediately snapped up her gun, a red dot beading on the White Hole's forehead.

"Stop it! Stop it!" A new voice said, as a female figure in black armor and a face-mask appeared out of the Lord's cloaks. Everyone's eyes turned to her, and she shrank back.

"Stop fighting." The girl said weakly.

"Who's THIS?" Terra said.

"No one for you to be concerned about, geokinetic." The Lord said. "But she's right. If you want to survive, we can't fight."

"Do you seriously expect us to work with YOU?" Cyborg snapped.

"Well…" Elijah said.

* * *

"_RARRRRRRRUUUUUUGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!" The White Hole shrieked as she dove at the Lord._

_His body splattered under the impact, Rebecca tearing through it like it was made of wet paper. She landed and spun around, glaring at the black remains, as they promptly liquefied and reformed into the Lord._

"_Hello to you too, Miss Styles."_

"_YOU BASTARD!" Rebecca yelled as she blurred over to the Lord with frightening speed. Even Elijah raised an eyebrow, as the White Hole buried her mace into the side of the Lord's head. He did not react, and she quickly stepped back and slashed out with her bladed toes, carving open the Lord's chest before she spun, grabbed the shadow being by the shoulders, and yanked, ripping him apart at the middle._

_Black ichor sprayed out, landing on Rebecca Styles and inflicting a deep, numbing cold on her. The alien warrior staggered back, trying to shake the liquid off, but it clung to her like a disease, stealing away her strength. As she glared in white-hot fury, the Lord reformed once more, none the worse for wear._

"_You can't kill me, Miss Styles. You can't hurt me, you can't inconvenience me, you can't even annoy me. Now BEHAVE. Unless you want to die."_

_The White Hole growled, the sound skittering across Charlotte, Elijah, Marissa, and Westminster's nerves._

"_And you can't kill me by distance either, Miss Styles." The Lord said, and tapped his head as the White Hole looked surprised. "Let's focus on the actual problem here."_

"_Something's raising the dead." Dr. Westminster said._

"_Yes. They're called Black Lanterns." The Lord said. "Yours was your former mentor. Styles. Who you have…issues with."_

_The White Hole snarled, baring her fearsome double-width canines, but did not speak._

"_You want to…help us fight her? You can make her less difficult?" Nightwalker asked._

"_NO!" The White Hole snarled, whirling towards Nightwalker, who actually shrank back. "I WILL DESTROY HER! NO MATTER HOW DIFFICULT IT IS!"_

"_You can't." The Lord said._

"_I WILL!"_

"_You CAN'T." The Lord snapped. "The ring she wears regenerates any damage done to the Black Lantern. Said ring itself is pretty much invulnerable to conventional means of attack."_

"_Listen to him." Elijah said, lifting his nearly destroyed sword. "I hit it hard enough to carve battleship plate steel in half. Nearly lost my arm on top of this."_

"_I will destroy her."_

"_No, White Hole. You're not listening. This is not 'difficult'." The Lord said. "Difficult is winning the Nobel Prize. Impossible is eating the sun."_

"_I could care less about the sun. My fight isn't over." Rebecca raged. "I KILLED HER. I killed her line! I destroyed her house, her ship, her husband, her children, her awards, her possessions, her wealth, her assistance, her Unit! I've destroyed EVERYTHING that was hers, and she STILL defies me? I. __**WILL. END. HER."**_

_Dr. Westminster stared for a second, before looking over at Sine and realizing she had one hand over her now-exposed mouth, her eyes wide and her face trembling a bit. It was easy to forget the sins of the past when they seemed past, but when you dredged them up, their power had rarely faded._

"…_all right Lord, enough with the circular argument." Dr. Westminster said, stepping forward. "Why did you grab us? I mean, what can we do from your whole spiel about star-munching and all that?"_

_The brief look the Lord gave Westminster made his skin crawl: it was clear that he knew exactly what the doctor was trying to pull stepping up and only continued because it suited him._

"_You cannot do anything. Not by yourself." The Lord said. "Why do you think I pulled you away, Styles? We need to make a concentrated effort, with pooled abilities."_

_Westminster stepped back, feeling sheepish, as Sine lowered her hand and adapted a business look. The White Hole growled again, but said nothing._

"_With that said…some of you might be familiar with Elijah Versaw and Charlotte Caileigh. If not, that's them. They're a speedster and a flying brick that can't fly." The Lord said, before gesturing at the trio for the aforementioned pair. "And here we have a berserker alien champion, vigilante aspirant, and whatever that doctor considers himself."_

"_In trouble, that's what I think."_

"_Who's she?" Nightwalker said, pointing to Marissa, who shrank back behind the Lord's floating cloaks._

"_No one of consequence at the moment." The Lord said._

"_Fine, be that way. You think all of us….Tartarus you named us? Right…you think we can do something?"_

"_Oh no, walker of my realm. You're all just one part of the puzzle." The Lord said. "The good thing is, the other part is going to dislike what's needed as much as you all will."

* * *

_

"You'd be surprised." Elijah said.

"No, seeing a glopnar tapdance would surprise me." Starfire said. "When it comes to THIS THING…how do the Earth people say this? You can forcibly take the end of a shovel and ram it up your rectum, BLADE FIRST."

The Lord chuckled darkly.

"You will all die." He said. "If I leave, these creatures that stalk you will win. There will be no last-second save, no new power out of nowhere, no deus ex machina. They will rip the hearts from your chest, and use your emotion to feed their master. And then they will animate your bodies, and you will kill your friends. And your surviving family. And your loved ones. And many, many more. And this will continue until whatever is behind this has enough power to exterminate every living creature in the universe. I wasn't lying. I am your only hope in hell. Do you want to live to see another day? Or watch your world die tonight? You have two choices and five seconds. PICK. ONE."

"…NO." Savior said firmly.

"Fortunately, you do not speak for the team weakling. That would be the shape shifter. All right Beast Boy, you're the leader. Lead." The Lord said. Beast Boy glared at the Lord, audibly grinding his jaw.

"…why the hell would you want to work with us?" Beast Boy said.

"Think, changeling. If I'm here, then I can't stop them. You cannot as well. Only working together do we have a chance."

"Work shmirk. You'll stab us in the back the second you get a chance to." Cyborg said.

"Do use that brain of yours as well, machine. It's come to such a bad state I had to seek _you _out for aid. If I am doing so, don't you think I want you effective? Do you really think I hate you so much that I would inconvenience myself as much as I would by turning on you?"

"You'll do it anyway. You won't be able to control yourself."

"Now you're just making excuses, machine."

Cyborg's arm hummed dangerously as he snapped up his cannon.

"Call me that one more time, and you can see what this _MACHINE_ can do."

"Do I have to beat some sense into all of you?" The White Hole said.

"Try it, you alien bitch." Terra said. The White Hole grinned in a particularly unpleasant fashion, and Terra suddenly began wondering if she could take her words back.

Raven didn't say anything, as she drew herself to the front of the Titans again, her eyes locked on the Lord, her rage nowhere near gone. The Lord looked back at her.

Myth's cough rumbled loudly in the back.

"I know I have no say here…" The giant man said. "But the situation seems to be this. I cannot stop these creatures. You cannot stop these creatures. And he and his…mercenaries cannot stop them either. If he was going to betray you, then he would have done it by now. He has not, which suggests he does not have the power to do it, nor to defeat these animated beings. If he is lying about either, then he would just let the creatures kill you, or would have far more options than what he has suggested. Ergo, while he cannot be trusted, he is on the level. Therefore…"

"Are you HONESTLY telling us we should work with this bastard? Do you know what he's done? To us? To the world?" Cyborg said.

"Perhaps not. All I can say is, he may be a complete monster. Maybe all of them are." Myth said, gesturing towards Tartarus. "But this situation…better to have complete monsters on our side. We'll need them. That is really what it comes down to. They need us. And we need them."

Silence.

"I am not a monster!" Dr. Westminster said in protest. Everyone gave him an annoyed or withering look. "Well…I'm not…"

"…okay…I'll put it to a vote…" Beast Boy said. "If you're in favor, raise your hand."

There was silence once more.

"…I will bite the bullet. I've eaten viler things." Scalpel said, raising his hand.

"…based on the data…in terms of…damn." Sophie said, and raised her hand.

"…he'll pay if he screws us over." Terra said, raising her hand.

"No. I will not. Not willingly. Ever." Starfire said.

Silence again.

Raven's head slowly turned as Savior silently raised his hand. He offered no reason, but he didn't have to. She turned away from him, feeling cold hate and fury bloom and turn over in her guts. She knew why he'd cast his vote. She tried not to direct any of her venom his way for it. She did not wholly succeed.

"…B?" Cyborg said, his arms firmly crossed.

"…I was tasked with protecting this team and this city…I'll handle tomorrow when it comes." Beast Boy said, and raised his hand. Cyborg shook his head.

"What has this world of ours come to?" Cyborg said.

"Yes, what a tragedy. A real threepenny opera." The Lord said.

"Shut up, asshole. Either make with a good idea or you can find out just how mad making this choice made me." Beast Boy said.

"Well yes…there is one last part." The Lord said. "We'd all have to work together, but most of us will just be the gears. There are two people who are key. Myself…and your sorceress."

The Titans stared, and then turned to look at Raven, who's features were inscrutable with her drawn up hood and sideways posture.

"Otherwise all of you can start making up your wills now. Though there won't be anyone to read them."

"…you _BASTARD_." Savior hissed.

"I'm simply speaking was has to happen, Titan." The Lord said. "This is as much for my sake as yours. Anything else is what you attach. And in this case, morality is too costly a luxury for you."

"What do _you_ know of prices?" Raven whispered.

"I'm standing here, aren't I?"

"……………………………...........you do not get to serve me regret. No." Raven said, turning slightly towards the Lord. "If you fail in any way, I will make you suffer for it."

"Duly noted." The Lord said. "No handshake necessary. Now, this is how you keep mankind alive."

* * *

"**First off, I'd rather not repeat myself. What have you assessed about the Black Lanterns?"**

"**Black Lanterns?"**

"**That's what they're called."**

"**They're some sort of emo version of the Green Lanterns?" Beast Boy said.**

"**You wish, changeling. No, what they are are avatars of death, as you have probably assessed." The Lord said. "But they're more than that. Raven?"**

"…**these creatures are animating people we've lost who have a connection to us, good or bad. There's a reason for this." Raven said. "From what I've been able to observe, in battle and with my own particular powers, they want emotion. Specifically, they want their victims to be completely overwhelmed with various emotions when they kill them. That's why they animate lost loved ones instead of strangers, and why the creatures insist on twisting the knife so hard. Once emotions hit a peak, they will assumingly go in for the kill."**

"**Which they do by removing the heart." The Lord said. "Should you die in such a fashion, the Black Lanterns have indicated they can then revive your own body as one of them."**

"**Great, as if this wasn't enough like a zombie movie." Terra grumped.**

"**Please stop interrupting, geokinetic." The Lord said. "This is more of a problem than you would realize, because as you've seen, not only are the animated transformed into monsters, they retain any superhuman powers they had while they were alive. That's possibly the only advantage we have. Most of your Lanterns were normal people. In the case of my current allies, they were not so fortunate. But we'll deal with those Black Lanterns later. For now, it's you own personal demons. Anything else to add, Raven?"**

"**Just one thing, **_**Lord.**_** Why would these Black Lanterns bother coming after you? You're a heartless monster, in all aspects of the word."**

"**Hmph. They have their reasons. Or the hand directing them does, anyway." The Lord said. "If that is all, I will tell you how to kill them."**

"_Hey. Lord." Elijah said, holding out his damaged blade. "You made me a guarantee when you got me this. I need to hold you to it."_

"_Smart." The Lord said, as he reached it and took Elijah's straight katana. The nearly broken sword straightened out and ceased to be damaged. A moment later, a twin of the blade appeared in Elijah's other hand, which was no longer pierced through and in considerable pain, much to Elijah's surprise._

"_Interesting costume." The Lord said, looking at Charlotte and her damaged sun dress, who blushed._

"_I didn't expect…have time…"_

"_Understood." The Lord said, placing a hand on Charlotte's shoulder. Her summer dress shifted, new clothes covering her body, a black version of her normal costume with added shoulder and leg armor. Charlotte looked alarmed for a moment._

"_He's all right, Charlotte. At the moment." Elijah said, testing his swords. "I hope this doesn't mean we're obliged to you now, Lord."_

"_Just do your job as outlined Versaw, and everything will be fine." The Lord said._

"_Um…" Charlotte said. "Does it have to be this way? I don't like…black…"_

"…_at your pleasure." The Lord said, turning around with a gesture. Empyrean's outfit changed color, now white and gold.. Empyrean grinned at the new costume's colors, while Elijah watched the Lord with a wary eye._

"_You going to get dressed Elijah?"_

"_Momentarily."_

"You CAN let go of your grudge, can't you alien?" Elijah said, examining his swords while the Lord talked. "I let go of that little spiel you tried forcing on me after the Speed Force died, one would think you could quit glaring at me every thirty seconds or so."

Scalpel didn't reply, turning away from the speedster.

"What, are you denying it? Not like you, from what I recall."

"You know nothing about me, murderer." Scalpel said.

"I know you hold a grudge. Except you don't seem to be much afraid of me. Which is strange, considering I have a better chance of killing you and your girlfriend then that supreme alien of your race does."

"And that confuses you, I bet."

"Somewhat. You could always have brain damage."

"Or maybe, unlike Styles, a worm like you doesn't deserve the slightest iota of fear or respect." Scalpel said, glancing at Elijah. "I see from her stance that your female friend has changed. Soon, she'll realize the same thing. Then you'll be all alone."

"A prophet now, are we?"

"Let me put it this way." Scalpel said, adjusting his hat. "If I put you next to the creature these rings revived, I'd be hard-pressed to decide who's more pathetic."

"And if my actions aid in the deaths of these creatures and hence, the preservation of your life and your team's?"

"That changes nothing, Scarz. Nothing at all."

"As you will. Wrong name though."

"Really? What's your new one then? Suture? Gauze? Surgical Staple?"

"I see constant interaction with humans have given you some aspect of cleverness. No alien." Elijah said, placing his swords on the ground. "With that idiotic Thawne child dead, someone far more deserving can take his name."

Elijah's form vibrated, as he drew upon the energies of the Speed Force and clothed himself in its powers. Rather then purple or red, this costume was black and emerald gold, four jagged blades pointing backwards from Elijah's goggle-like face mask.

"I am Inertia." Elijah said, picking up his swords. "Do your job alien, and I'll do mine."

"Easier said than done, with you around."

"…henh." Inertia said.

_Nightwalker tried to not appear to care as the Lord approached her, talking quietly with Westminster as the White Hole stared off into the black._

"_Miss Sine." The Lord said. Nightwalker looked at him. The Lord gestured and the vigilante's broken blade appeared. The Nightscourge, once the Lightscourge and the Lord's personal weapon before events had changed its wielder._

"_Do try and be more careful." The Lord said, as he fused the sword back together. The black runes on the blade glowed as they re-formatted._

"_You told me yourself it couldn't break."_

"_Always watch for the exceptions to the rules." The Lord said. Nightwalker looked over her sword, not replying._

"_So, that's fixed. You getting anything else from the armory, Sine?"_

"_I'm good. How about you, doctor?"_

"_Uh…" Dr. Westminster said, looking at the Lord. "Uh…give me the strongest thing you got?"_

"_That would require implanting your head into the center of your rib cage, replacing your blood with hellfire, and wiring your brain to only know aggression and hunger."_

"…_on second thought, I'll take a riot shield."_

"_Not enough punch. Allow me." The Lord said, as he gestured at Dr. Westminster. His shotgun was pulled out his jacket, the Lord grabbing it and turning it around as its metal warped in his grip. Westminster stared as the Lord offered the weapon back, now a smaller weapon glowing with new runes. Misty shadows formed by the doctor's side, and a riot shield that appeared to be made out of some sort of black crystal appeared out of them._

"_Whoa…um…ta." Dr. Westminster said. The Lord moved on._

"Your boyfriend is going to be able to act properly, right?" Nightwalker said.

"I'm sure he will, and yours?" Morgue said, looking over her weapons.

"Uh…Richard isn't my...well…it's complicated."

"I meant the White Hole." Morgue said.

"Um…I can only offer my basic assurances that she will. I've given up trying to predict which way she'd jump. Your mate seems, ah, more…set in his ways?"

"By that you mean, not crazy unless she's taking constant medication."

"…she can't help how she was born. And how her damn empire exploited her. I'm sure your boyfriend has told you plenty of stories about it. It's why they're both here."

"Technically she's here because of him, but yes I'm sure. Don't worry. He'll be fine."

"…are they all like this?"

"What?"

"Does all it really take to bring out the beast in them is a little trauma?"

"Well, for one, the White Hole is probably more beast than…well, person I guess. Without medication. Maybe even with." Morgue said. "Even Scalpel's had some bad…trials. All I can say is stand by them. They may become a beast, but you can ensure they don't stay as one."

"…right." Nightwalker said, and engaged her helmet, the high-tech protection forming up and covering her face.

"**The key to the Black Lanterns are the rings. This may seem obvious, but there's more to it." The Lord said. "The rings aren't like normal power rings. For one, my scans have shown them to be literally rooted in the body. Impossible to conventionally remove. Attacking them directly also has no effect, both in physical and unusual terms. And by unusual, the creatures are pretty much immune to conventional offensive magic. They adapt quickly to UNconventional use, as well. For all intents and purposes, the rings are invincible."**

"**But they aren't, or else you wouldn't be doing this." Morgue said.**

"**Let me finish, undertaker. As said, the rings are currently invincible. None of us have the powers to change this…alone. The option we do potentially have, though, is troublesome." The Lord said. "To start off, we have to use one of the older tricks in the book: switch opponents."**

"…**that's it? The old enemy do-se-do?" Beast Boy said.**

"**This isn't like a normal enemy, Titan. Black Lanterns are compelled to seek out their victims. You're going to have to be pretty damn persistent to keep them occupied, in theory. Even then, it won't last forever. What I, we, need for you to do is keep the Black Lanterns occupied as such while Raven and I initiate the proper plan."**

"…**and what is that?" Raven asked quietly.**

**Part of her wished she hadn't asked.**

"…so, you got dragged into this too?" Dr. Westminster said.

"Mmmm?" Myth grunted, wrapping his fists with tape.

"Dragged into this hero mess. I only call them heroes because we get labeled as villains. Which we shouldn't."

"If this is about my calling you a monster…"

"I'm not."

"Fine, you're not." Myth said, cinching in the tape. Westminster toyed with his mask.

"Clearly you would rather be distracted then think of what's to come." Myth said.

"Damn straight."

"I trusted a psychopath. He murdered my sister. Now her corpse has come after me, blaming me for my failing and wanting me dead. Unless your animated hunter can top that, consider that you have it better off than me." Myth said, cracking his knuckles.

"Uh…well I _was_ going to ask to hide behind you…"

"Not recommended." Myth said, his damaged eyes briefly lighting up with a burning fire.

"Okay then…so…have anything else profound to say?"

"No."

"Want to talk about anything else?"

"No."

"…See the latest episode of Stargate?"

"…yes, actually."

"Got to admire the Scottish guy as an actor…"

"_You want any weapons, Styles? I know you have a love of weapons."_

"_Who is she?" The White Hole said, pointing at Marissa, who was keeping to herself near the edge of the darkness 'patch' the Lord was using to travel around in._

"_It does not concern you."_

"_She radiates weakness. Terror. She'll be a liability. We should dispose of her."_

"_She is NOT your concern. Let it go."_

"_Henh. You seem to know things so well, Lord of Night." The White Hole sneered. "If you know things so well, then give me what you think I'd want."_

_The Lord chuckled for a moment, and then misty black energy flowed up once more, forming and solidified into a black metal and crystal double-headed axe. A __**gigantic **__double-headed axe: it was bigger than the White Hole._

"_And for memory's sake." The Lord said, forming another blade, a modified rapier so thin it was virtually invisible from certain viewing angles. A weapon Rebecca had been well-trained in, hated with a passion, and knew she would probably have to use._

_She decided she would give her axe a test as a response. On the Lord._

"_Huh, works well." The White Hole said, pulling the weapon up from where she'd cleaved the Lord in half. She snatched the rapier-esque blade and secreted it away on her person, as the Lord reformed himself. The White Hole glared at this, despite knowing it was coming, and stalked off._

"_Charming girl." The Lord said, and made his way over to Marissa. _

"You going to be all right Gar?" Cyborg said.

"Dude…first our parents, wait no, things PRETENDING to be our parents come back, and now we're teaming up with the Lord? I'm…handling it, but this has been a VERY. BAD. DAY." Beast Boy said, running his hands through his hair.

"You can handle it Gar. That's why you're the leader." Terra said, wrapping her arms around Beast Boy's shoulders.

"Is it too late to hold another election?"

"We do not doubt our choice, Beast Boy. You should not as well." Starfire said. "I believe Robin would have been similarly rattled."

"Yeah, but Robin's been trained by Batman…geez, I hope Batman had a plan to avoid something like this." Beast Boy said. "All I had was…I tried to revert to an animalistic state. Pure vicious survival."

"You came back. That's all that's important." Terra said. "Besides, I lost my temper too."

"And I…well. Yeah." Cyborg said. "This isn't going to be easy, but at least we have a way of tackling it now. And we'll do it without resorting to hiding in alternate mindsets."

"Yeah. We'll win." Beast Boy said.

"Never mind what it will entail." Starfire said, looking darkly at the Lord's nearby form. "…the worst part is, I think any of us in the cloak of leadership would have made the same choice."

"The devil you know." Cyborg said. "But if he decides to screw with us, I'll give him a REAL hell."

_Marissa turned her semi-disturbed yet empty gaze to her unusual benefactor. She didn't mind being ignored. Most of the time, she preferred it._

"_The alien does raise a point. Not only were you caught unprepared, you were assaulted in an extremely…egregious fashion. I'm done my best to fix you, but even I don't expect my handiwork to hold up that well."_

"_I'm sorry." Marissa said quietly._

"_Don't be. I suppose if our positions were reversed…but no matter. I don't want you engaged in the plan. You're too much of a liability in your current state."_

_Marissa was silent._

"_However…I also don't want you dying. Or…other complications. Not yet. " The Lord said, placing two fingers on Marissa's shoulders. Shadows flowed out, solidifying over Marissa, the Hispanic girl watching with alarmed surprise until her face was covered as well, the darkness solidifying into a full-features blank mask. "So your only order is this. Keep your head down and stay alive. Circumstances might change, and then I might call upon you…but otherwise, stay alive."_

"…_yes sir."_

"_I do mean that, Miss Mori." The Lord said, taking his hand away. "To become what I am, I've had to lock horns with death. It's something I might wish on my enemies…but not on you."_

"_We're arriving in Jump, Lord." Elijah called. The Lord glanced over, noting Elijah standing by the observation crystal of their unique transport. Time to go see just how much trouble his enemies were in. Hazarding a guess, it would be enough for this to work._

"_And in these dark times, not even them."_

Beast Boy and Terra. Scalpel and Morgue. Even Elijah and his partner, Charlotte. Strength in a bond.

Raven was in turmoil as she watched them, briefly, but she swallowed it. Circumstances were cruel, but the alternative was worse. Cyborg wasn't the only one who would be watching the Lord like a hawk.

…was her lineage really so damning? Had karma been reminded who her (hopefully vanquished) father was while pouring over some old papers and decided that she'd needed some sort of belated comeuppance? She really couldn't think of any other reason why her life over the past year had been characterized by what had happened. There had been a price to pay for her choice, yes, but she'd thought it had been paid, or at least involved another line of payment. Now the creature that had forced the choice upon her was the only hope she had of ever getting a chance to finish paying it. It simply…was not fair.

Fairness, though, she reminded herself, never had anything to do with it, and she didn't have time for such pointless naval gazing. When it came to her pairing, she was the one who was suffering less. She hadn't been her mother who had been sent after her, after all.

"Savior…?" Raven said, approaching.

"I'm fine." Savior said, not looking at Raven.

"I know you're not."

"That doesn't matter. For the sake of the plan, our survival, and likely the larger survival of the world and/or universe, I'm fine. We have the plan, and we can gnash our teeth over its more bitter points another time." Savior said. "Every other bridge we can burn later."

"…do we have to burn them?"

"I don't know and I don't care." Savior said. "Just do your job, Raven. You've done it well so far. Kept me alive. Kept us all alive. Keep doing it. You have a standard of excellence, and I have to hold you to it."

"…as you will." Raven said, drifting away.

"Good." Savior said.

Raven felt anything but.

"…**do you have ANY IDEA how pulled out of your rear end that plan sounds?" Beast Boy said.**

"**As said, unless you have a better idea, it's likely the only chance you have of surviving, and of myself not being immensely…inconvenienced." The Lord said darkly.**

"…**what odds do you give that it will work?" Starfire said.**

"**I don't give odds. For all I know, it's going to make things worse. But as said, we have no options. Either this works, or…well, your deepest regret isn't going to be working with me. So, are there any more disagreements?"**

**The Titans looked grim, but no one spoke up.**

"**Good. We are currently in a specialized 'crack' of reality that I shunted us into to get away from the Black Lanterns. I used a fair bit of power to do so as well, in case you were hoping my usual considerable might will let you slack off." The Lord said, glancing at Elijah, who rolled his eyes. "Assuming it works, I will shunt us back a few seconds after I removed you. You will fall upon the Black Lanterns, and Raven and I will do what we arranged, and hopefully things will all go as well as they possibly could. It will also confirm a potential weapon for you to use against the Black Lanterns, because they're not just attacking you. Any questions?"**

"**Yeah. Really, why the hell should we trust you?" Cyborg said.  
"I give you my word."**

"**Your word means less than nothing to me, Lord."**

"**Fine. I give you the fact that screwing you over will hurt me a lot more than it will satisfy me. Come now, Cyborg. Consider what's practical."**

"**Oh yeah, practicality. That old saw. Which you toss aside whenever you feel like."**

"…**touché." The Lord said. "Not this time, Titan. I need you. I don't like it, but I need you. If you really can't take it, then by all means, take the reins."**

**Cyborg crossed his arms and glared some more, but he kept quiet.**

"**All right then. I'll give you a few moments to work things out. When that's done, and we don't have time for anything else, we strike."**

She seemed familiar, Raven thought, as she watched the Lord converse with the unnamed girl in armor. Under normal circumstances (or normal for her, anyway), Raven would have tried to figure out just who she was.

For now, she had to focus on the plan. It was the only thing keeping her bile and fury in check, as the Lord noticed her. He gestured, and the girl walked away, unable to disguise the faint hint of a scamper. Disgust bloomed anew in Raven's heart. She didn't want to consider what someone who was considered important to the Lord had to be like mentally to serve him.

"I assume you have the proper idea of what spells will be needed. Also the improvisation that will likely be required." The Lord said.

"I know more magic than you. You'd just better be able to keep up."

"Maybe, but I'm the one needed for the more…necessary aspects of the spell." The Lord said. "Perhaps you should consider putting your own poison in the mix, Raven. It might help."

Raven's knuckles whitened on her clenched fist.

"I'm not trying to rile you, sorceress. It's the simple truth."

"You don't know a thing about truth. All you know is papering over the cracks of your own pathetic terror with cruelty and arrogance."

"Not now, Raven. There are bigger things at stake. For your world, and my world."

"How can you honestly expect me…"

"Because you're a HERO, aren't you?" The Lord said. "Heroes are STRONG. Heroes save the day. Heroes WIN. Didn't you win that time, Raven? Isn't the truth enough for you?"

Raven said nothing.

"This has little to do with me, and most everything to do with you." The Lord said. "So look to yourself, and deal with it. It's time for the larger game."

"……………………………................everyone. Gather up. We're getting started." Raven said.

The Titans and Tartarus assembled, their bodies tense and their eyes dark. Weapons klinked and shifted in various hands.

"Everyone ready?" The Lord said. The consensus was yes. "All right then, prepare yourself. We'll shunt back, quickly assess where your Black Lanterns are, pick targets, and go to work."

The Lord raised his hands, and darkness flowed from them to his eyes, which blazed with power.

A moment later the shadowy void was gone. The Titans and Tartarus were back on the skyscraper roof.

"Welcome back, LORD."

The Lord's eyes widened as Genocide floated down. The Titans and Tartarus whipped their heads around. All the previous Black Lanterns were still there.

They'd also been joined by thirteen other ones. Evidently, the time gone by had _not _been a few seconds.

"…I may have miscalculated." The Lord said.

The air filled with black weapons of death.

* * *

Things weren't much better in Eisenstaedt, though if you told Gauntlet that, he probably would have told you nowhere was safe during a zombie apocalypse. If someone had pointed out this was far from a traditional zombie apocalypse, he would have told them that was just their limited cultural bias talking.

"Alright you undead jerks! Prepare to meet your maker! Again!….AGAIN!" Gauntlet yelled, as he charged forward, his yellow power forming into a fist.

It was unlikely Gauntlet would have noticed under the best of circumstances that Cipactli was glaring a burning hole into his back. It was no real fault of Gauntlet's however, and in fact it may have been a good thing, as wheels began to turn in Cipactli's brain. She quickly turned to her arm computer, clenching her teeth and hoping the Titan would keep them suitably busy.

"Hey you! Stick around!" Gauntlet yelled as he threw a knife he'd picked up somewhere into a black mook construct, before forming twin Gauntlet swords. "And this…I call this Dutch Kendo!"

Gauntlet leapt into the midst of the three, spinning like a whirlwind. He managed to hack apart Dr. Knott once more, as Scaramouche and K.O.B.R.A Kommander were driven back.

"I don't get to use that one very often. Only allowed to stab robots and zombies, you see. Gotta have standards."

"You have NONE!" Scaramouche yelled, forming a mass of guns.

"Ooh, replicable violence? Standards and practices won't like that." Gauntlet said, and slashed out in a blur of flashing yellow. Scaramouche's arms flew off a moment later, black blood spurting from the stumps.

"I'd make a pun about disarming you, but I know you'd just see it coming."

A Gauntlet tendril the Titan had made at foot level swung up behind Scaramouche and bashed him in the head.

"Unlike that." Gauntlet said, turning towards KK and lifting his remaining guns. "Now, don't let my banter blow you away."

The guns roared, and KK was cut to pieces once more.

"That's what the shotgun's for."

A dark chuckling echoed in Gauntlet's ear. He whirled around to find Dr. Knott, already completely re-assembled. A flash of motion in the corner of his eye made him whirl around again, to find his other two Black Lanterns had almost instantly re-assembled themselves.

"You still don't understand, do you, Candide spawn?" Dr. Knott said. "Your life is gone already. This is merely the last twitches of muscular electricity."

The beam of black fired at Gauntlet, who found his shield didn't work as well as he would have liked, the blast driving him backwards.

"…oi." Gauntlet said, and then Scaramouche and KK fired their rings in turn. Gauntlet was thrown backwards and smashed through the front of a convenience store, crashing out the back end in a hail of rubble and into the street beyond.

"Ugh." Gauntlet said, pushing himself up and dusting the debris from his hair. "…where's Kip? I hope they didn't eat her. That'd suck for everyone."

"Titan." Cipactli said, abruptly landing beside Gauntlet.

"Oh hey Kip. I'm glad you weren't eaten. That would suck for everyone."

"…did you take a blow to the head?"

"Maybe." Gauntlet said, and spat bloody saliva on the ground. "Fudge. I hate going to the dentist."

"Titan, pay attention. I have a plan."

"Let me guess, it involves me sticking my neck back out while you go power up the death ray."

"…that's not precisely true but yes. You have to keep them occupied. I need more time!"

"How much more time?"

"Not long!" Cipactli said as the building Gauntlet had flown from exploded completely, the Black Lanterns floating through the mess.

"…once more into the breach." Gauntlet said, as he stepped forward. Cipactli quickly fled out of the Black Lantern's sight and sights.

"Look at you. Thinking you have a chance. So sad." Dr. Knott said.

"Sad you say?" Gauntlet replied, as his energy flowed out and formed a broadsword. "I WILL EAT YOUR UNHAPPINESS!"

"I grow tired of-GURK!" K.O.B.R.A Kommander gasped as Gauntlet used his sword as a pole-vault instead of the traditional manner, leaping up and smashing a yellow-energy wrapped foot into the Kommander's helmeted face.

"Very interesting brat, but you…!" Scaramouche managed to get out before the 'sword-vault' twisted and propelled Gauntlet towards the former assassin. Scaramouche lashed out with his ring, only for Gauntlet to twirl in mid-air, avoiding it as he landed on Scaramouche's shoulders. The Black Lantern looked up as his vision filled with a gold metal fist, as Gauntlet punched down so hard he literally made Scaramouche kiss his own ass.

"I'm drawing the line at declaring I'm the fist and not the wacky kid though. And I don't need any torture chambers masquerading as costumes either!" Gauntlet said, leaping off Scaramouche. He hit the ground running towards Dr. Knott, the Black Lantern firing several more spears. Gauntlet dodged through them, stopped, and leapt…backwards. Thrusting his arm out, he fired a corkscrewing fist of energy that slammed into Dr. Knott and drilled him through the rubble of the building the battle had previously wrecked.

"…you are NOTHING, child!" K.O.B.R.A Kommander hissed. Gauntlet threw a car into him.

"You keep putting out all these assumptions presented as facts about me. Can I do it too? Because I have a real humdinger." Gauntlet said, and cartwheeled to the side as a clamping maw of black power crashed its teeth on where Gauntlet had just been. He clenched his fists, and a rod of Gauntlet energy shot out and slammed into Scaramouche's chest. Gauntlet promptly swung the rod into the side of the nearest building, the front buckling and collapsing on the Black Lantern.

"See, whenever magazines rank my hometown in their…livable rankings or whatever, it tends to get very low recommendations. Why? Because it's a font of chaos. Metahumans aren't a dime a dozen, they're penny on the gross. You can't walk down the street without seeing ape with jet packs in a turf war with cyborg dinosaurs! Everyone might flock to live in Metropolis, but our city? It's a death-trap! It's unbelievably dangerous! Then again, considering the average reporter ends his time there with three awards from his fellows…fair trade." Gauntlet said. "But you see, the people who do live there…they know where these observers are getting it wrong. They haven't seen the exact nature of the place. It's loud, and obnoxious, and constantly in your face for how wild it is…but despite that, it's better off then a lot of cities. Because all the anarchy comes with a trade-off. Little tragedy."

"What are you babbling about?" Dr. Knott said.

"I'm saying that if you live in Uberton, you won't have much in the way of peace. But you'll also find that every time you're swept up, 99 times out of a 100 you'll be back down at the end with clothes more disheveled and a little bit wiser. Yeah, maybe it's a silly, dangerous place. But it's a FUN silly, dangerous place. Sometimes people end up in the hospital, sometimes bad things happen…but its angst production is rock bottom. There's hardly been any dead superhero or villains over the fifty-plus years the place has been around, and believe me, considering the numbers on both sides, that's really saying something." Gauntlet said. "Do you know when the first time I really regretted being a superhero was? When I went to a Jump City memorial for what that bastard the Lord did to the Titans' city. I realized that not everyone gets it so easy. Personally I hope every single one of those innocents rose up and is doing a tapdance on that creature's head. But there's no Lords in Uberton. There's very little in the way of death. THAT'S why you came after me. If you wanted to go after my dad, you'd find who knows how many people uniting against you. Hundreds! Maybe THOUSANDS. Can even three entities like you hold up against those odds? I'm not your super-special terrible revenge! I'm the game genie you're whipping out because you're sick of dying on Level 1!"

"…what?" Dr. Knott said. Even in death, villains had certain predispositions. They were used to heroes cracking wise or yelling at them, not stealing their usual monologuing.

"Here, I'll put this in terms you can understand." Gauntlet said, as scores of yellow lines sprang anew from his namesake. "I'm not your victim. I'm the first wave in the war of attrition you're not even going to get into."

"Oh really!" K.O.B.R.A Kommander yelled, as Gauntlet turned around.

The Black Lantern smashed an SUV aside, revealing a crouched and rather alarmed Cipactli.

"Then I guess SHE'S our victim then!" KK yelled, and fired a piercing blast at the girl.

Gauntlet didn't even get the chance to do the classic _Bodyguard_ yell.

Cipactli leapt backwards, the machinery on her arms lighting up. She slashed them to the side.

Crackling arcs of energy fired out of Citactli's gear, striking the attack and deflecting it aside. It carved another car in half, the vehicle exploding as Cipactli stood there, looking a bit surprised despite herself.

"WHAT?" K.O.B.R.A Kommander yelled.

"DYNAMIC ENTRY!" Gauntlet yelled, as he once again kicked the 'Kommander' away. "Oh man, that is so cool! Where can I get one of those?"

"Don't talk to me! I don't know if I can do this much, and I still don't know how to actually hurt them!"

"YOU CANNOT STOP US!' Dr. Knott yelled, charging in anew.

"…so, what's Plan C?" Gauntlet said as the Black Lanterns closed in.

"I DON'T HAVE ONE!"

"Then we skip to Plan D. Improvise and hope for a lucky break." Gauntlet said. Cipactli apparently didn't have the greatest hopes for this plan, as she yelled angrily and blasted Dr. Knott with her helmet. "Yeah, I know, it looks a lot like my Plan A. That happens a lot."

* * *

Death came on swift wings.

Raven's wings were swifter, as a black dome materialized over the collected living. The black energy attacks impacted or deflected off the protection: a moment later black shadow dragon heads emerged from the dome and fired off a storm of retaliatory blasts. Black Lanterns were blasted away or apart, even as Raven dropped her shield and fell to one knee.

"Titans come on! Don't get boxed up!" Beast Boy yelled, as his team tried to organize themselves.

"Damn." The Lord said.

The top of the skyscraper exploded, and the Titans and Tartarus were scattered to the winds as more Black Lanterns flew up from the destruction. The Lord grabbed onto Marissa and flipped over, watching his plan fall apart around his ears.

"Like hell." The Lord said, as he held out his hand. A swirling vortex of black energy materialized under it, even as Genocide went for him.

The sphere exploded outward from the Lord, engulfing everything in the surrounding square miles. The Titans felt cold wash over them, and then an intense sense of vertigo.

The Black Lanterns, on the other hand, found their chosen victims vanishing, replaced by entirely different people. The Lord _had _had a back up plan: if the team couldn't scramble, he'd scramble for them.

That just left Genocide.

"NOW WE-!" Murdercrow began.

Raven flew up, crashing into the group and carrying them away. The Lord's eyes narrowed. Was she that focused on the plan? Or did she have other intentions?

"Master…" Marissa whimpered.

"Not to worry, Miss Mori. I'm getting things back under control." The Lord said, as he landed nearby. Two figures landed near him at the exact same time.

"Westminster! Nightwalker!" The Lord said, as the pair looked at him. "Things went wrong. I need to correct them. I want you to watch my assistant."

"WHAT? Screw you! I'm going to help Becky!" Nightwalker said.

"She can look after herself. Consider this a favor owed." The Lord said, depositing Marissa down between them. "Try not to fail! I'll be very, very IRKED!"

"…right. Irked." Westminster gulped as the Lord flew away.

"Hello." Nightwalker said. Marissa just nervously waved.

"So…bodyguard duty. Shall we break out the deck of cards?" Dr. Westminster said.

"MARISSSSSSSSSAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Came a bellow, and the young girl shrieked and cowered behind Nightwalker as Mitch Mori flew at the three.

"Aw hell." Westminster said, and snapped up his shotgun as he and Nightwalker opened fire.

"What? Damn it, of all the…" The Lord said, turning around.

The fist smashed into the side of his head, sending him tumbling away. The Lord recovered just in time for a black flaming sword to cleave his arm off.

"Even in darkness light dawns for the upright, for the gracious and compassionate and righteous man!" Godsend yelled, as he lashed several more swords at the Lord. The Lord dodged away, his arm growing back.

"Then I have no reason to be concerned." The Lord said, and lashed out, explosions blasting across the sky and slamming into Godsend. The zealot was not stunned long, gathering himself and ramming back into the Lord.

---------------------------------------------------

"Come on, do try and entertain me until the main course!" The White Hole said, as she swung her massive axe through several of Elijah's victim-Lanterns. The Versaws flew to give aid, before three compacted floors of the skyscraper that had just been wrecked smashed into them, as Terra rammed the couple into another building and really, REALLY hope that Jump City had seen enough chaos to have learned to have cleared out quickly.

---------------------------------------------------

"All right Gar, remember what we talked about!" Cyborg said he leapt away, heading for an unidentified Black Lantern.

"Yes! I will." Beast Boy said, as he ran forward. "I will see this through myself! I will lead my team to victory! I am not an animal! I AM NOT AN ANIMAL!" Beast Boy yelled, even as he (ironically) turned into a gorilla. "I-AM-A MAN!"

Beast Boy buried his fist into the torso of the Original White Hole. She stood, staring at the shape shifter, not affected in the slightest.

"…be my friend?" Beast Boy said.

"No." The Original said, her hand snapping up and grabbing Beast Boy's wrist. The Titans' leader was saved a broken bone as a green blur slammed into the alien and carried her away.

"…that could have gone better." Beast Boy said.

An explosion sounded near the green metahuman, and Cyborg crashed down a second later.

"Hey Gar. Got a minute?" Cyborg said. Beast Boy didn't get to reply before having to dodge a black energy blast.

"Until I can get at my daughter…" Angila Mathews rasped. "I'll have to settle for practicing on you!"

"Unnatural abominations!" Elginbrod yelled, joining in on the attack. "God shall smite you down! As will I!"

"WHAT? Another fundie nutjo-forget it! LET'S GO VICTOR!" Beast Boy said, as he turned into a tiger and leapt to the attack, Cyborg backing him up with sonic cannon shots.

---------------------------------------------------

The Original White Hole crashed down to the ground, spinning and leaping back to her feet in one swift motion. Inertia blurred into sight nearby, his swords sheathed on his back.

"Do get out of my way." The Original said.

"Try and move me." Inertia retorted.

The Original moved at a blur herself, striking at Inertia's neck. She struck air, as Inertia was now a few feet to the left.

"Hmmmm."

Both figures became blurs, as the Original fired off a masterpiece of flowing attacks. Inertia weaved through them, and responded with just one, as he dashed backwards and then charged in, leveling the Original with a punch. The alien crashed to the ground, a crack in her mask.

"…hmmmmm." The Original said again, floating back up to her feet, her glowing eyes smoldering behind her facial covering. Inertia pulled out his swords and dashed towards the alien. Blades and claws met in a shower of sparks.

---------------------------------------------------

"Where is Nigicalnack? He cannot hide…!" Son said before the white and gold form jumped towards him. Robrostra Son just managed to get out of the way before Empyrean landed, smashing a massive crater into the street with her fist and causing two of the surrounding buildings to partially collapse.

"Nuts!" Empyrean said.

"Stupid human! You will pay!" Son yelled, and lashed out with a barbed whip.

"OW!" Empyrean said, the black energy carving a bloody line across her stomach. This, however, was apparently not the result he expected.

"DIE! DIE!" Son yelled, firing throwing-star like energy blasts. The attacks deflected off Empyrean's skin as she tried to dodge, leaving just minor scratches. "Impossible! You can't…!"

Empyrean seized up a nearby car that had fallen into the crater and hurled it with a spin, tossing the multi-ton vehicle like it was made of paper.

"Not again!" Son yelled, just managing to dodge. Empyrean leapt out of the crater after the car, crashing into Son and carrying him through one of the collapsed buildings. The Black Lantern squirmed out of her grip and retreated.

"Hey! Come back here!" Empyrean yelled, giving chase.

---------------------------------------------------

"You." Murdercrow said, as Genocide finally recovered from Raven's attack. "I owe you too."

"No. _You_ don't." Raven said, and lashed out with a claw of black. Sizzle flew forward and met it with a blast of terrible flame.

Before a white line seized her ankle and yanked her down with a yell. Murdercrow and Shadowmaster could only gape as Raven continued on her attack and clawed through the Black Lanterns, even as Savior smashed Sizzle into the ground.

"Never thought I'd see you again, Hailey." Savior said.

"RAAAAAUUGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!" Sizzle shrieked, fire exploding up the street at Savior. The Titan leapt away.

"You I can deal with. I owe Raven far more." Savior said, as he grabbed onto another building and hurled himself at the Black Lantern.

---------------------------------------------------

"You haven't escaped me boy…" Crystal said, seeing the battle in the distance and flying in.

Scalpel landed on Crystal, driving her into the ground.

"Yes, he has." Scalpel said, leaping away as Crystal clawed at the alien with jagged blades. The Black Lantern pulled herself out of the crater in time for Myth to smash her into yet another building.

"…thanks." Scalpel said. Myth grunted.

"Don't celebrate yet." Morgue said. A second later the Logans and Stones appeared, even as Crystal ripped herself free.

"Death to all, but death to YOU first!" Silas snarled.

"This may take a while." Morgue said.

"We did cancel that appointment, didn't we?" Scalpel asked.

"Yes."

"Good. We can take our time." Scalpel said, and hurled his glaive, sending the spinning length to impale into Elinore Stone's chest. Scalpel snatched up his war hammer and charged with Myth, even as Morgue pulled out an unusual gun and fired a cutting ray of light that sliced off Marie Logan's hand before she could bring her ring to bear.

---------------------------------------------------

"You failed me as well! You deserve to die as well!" Latrisha yelled, a spiked club smashing the ground where Starfire had been.

"You are a liar, and false as well. My sadness belongs elsewhere." Starfire said, firing off a spray of Starbolts.

Even as an overturned car abruptly twisted and grew a mouth, leaping at Starfire. The alien yelped in surprise and blew the car away…which allowed Charm to come in from the other angle and floor Starfire with an energy fist.

"You forgot my animation powers. Just like you forgot me." Charm said.

"I never forget." Starfire replied, her eyes shining bright as Latrisha returned and both Black Lanterns attacked her.

"Destruction cometh, and they shall seek peace, and there shall be NONE." Godsend said, forming a gigantic axe and bringing it down on the Lord. The Lord phased away, re-appearing behind Godsend.

"First, God made idiots. That was for practice." The Lord said, lashing out with a charged punch that nearly ripped Godsend's head off again, before the Lord kicked him into the air and then slammed his fist into the ground, an eruption of energy blasting Godsend off into the distance. "Then he made devotees like you."

"I believe that proper end of that quote is he made school boards." Slade said, lowering himself down near the Lord.

The Lord looked at the Black Lantern, and then glanced at the battles all around him. As noble and/or well as the assembled living were facing, they were stalemating their enemies at best. Enemies that felt no pain, suffered no wounds, and knew no fear. It was gradual, but they were losing. Worse, no solution to the error he'd made had presented itself. The Lord couldn't work with Raven with half a dozen Black Lanterns breathing down his neck.

Despite himself, a ghost of a smile crossed the Lord's face.

"Your arrogance in thinking is impressive." Slade said, as he formed himself a black broadsword. "I will enjoy cutting it out of you before I get down to the real business at hand."

"I couldn't put it better myself." The Lord said, recalling his Zweihänder blade. "Let's go, old man."

* * *

"KOOOO-BRAAAA!"

"Yeah yeah, Hail Hydra." Gauntlet said as he bisected the construct in half. "Will someone pull out a new shirt color? This is actually getting dull."

"STOP TAUNTING THEM!" Cipactli yelled.

"If you're so eager to die horribly, Candide!" Dr. Knott said, as the three Black Lanterns merged their rings and sent a storm of black rat creatures swarming towards the pair.

"You idiot!" Cipactli yelled again.

"Come on Cipactli, they've been planning to kill us horribly since they showed up. We might as well mock them for it."

"ARRRGGGHHHHHH!" Cipactli yelled in frustration as she thrust out her arms. The mechanics shone once more, and the ravenous pack of artificial vermin ground to a halt.

"DO SOMETHING!"

"Okay!" Gauntlet yelled as he ran and leapt over the rat pack. Cipactli goggled, and then felt something give out in her armor. "SHIT!"

The rat pack resumed forward motion, even as Gauntlet leapt onto Scaramouche.

"SHINING FINGER!" Gauntlet yelled as he grabbed the Black Lantern's hair and used a pulse of energy to disintegrate his face. "RADIANT TOE!" Gauntlet jumped off the body and roundhoused KK into the street. "SCHWARZ BRUDER!"

Cipactli didn't see exactly what Gauntlet did, as she was climbing up a wall and leaping over the rat masses. All she heard was a cry of 'AHHHHHHHHHH!' and landed by Gauntlet as Dr. Knott crashed through a telephone pole.

"Hey, whatever you're doing is tripping them up enough for me to get somewhere! Keep it up!"

"…I…don't think I can." Cipactli grunted.

"Well dog nuggets. How did you do that to begin with, then? Maybe I can do it!"

"I doubt it…" Cipactli said. "I tried to adapt pre-existing systems in my armor for damage but it didn't hold out. And I can't run off and improve on it."

"Really? Wow, and I thought Bat Shark-Repellant was considering all the bases."

Cipactli just stared, before noticing that the Black Lanterns were heading their way again. She racked her mind for ideas…and nearly kicked herself as a blindingly obvious one presented itself.

"…the rings. All this is from the rings. Go after the rings!"

"Aye aye!" Gauntlet said, leaping forward, blades flying from his weapon. "TIME TO HIT THE BREAKING POINT!"

The Gauntlet energy smashed against the three Black Lantern rings…and did nothing.

"CANDIDE SECRET TECHNIQUE! RING SMASHER!" Gauntlet yelled, leaping and spinning in the air as his body fired off multiple golden spears. They impaled through the Black Lanterns, but the rings remained unaffected.

"I'LL FIGURE THIS OUT! GREAT KICK SPECIAL! BRAIN CRUSH HAMMER! MIRACLE SUPER PUNCH! ULTRA MISSILE PERFECT! GALACTICA DONUT! HYPER PLASMA SHORTCAKE!" Gauntlet rambled as he fired off attack after attack, none of which actually affected the rings. "Okay…fine."

K.O.B.R.A Kommander slashed an axe-shaped blade at Gauntlet. The Titan ducked and rolled onto it, springing out and seizing onto KK's outstretched arm.

"The Mantis Grabs The Last Grain Of Rice Stuck To The Bowl!" Gauntlet yelled, as he seized the ring with his hand and yanked with all his might.

He felt like he'd tried to pull a redwood tree out of the ground, without his namesake. A second later his hand began to burn with cold, even through the armor. Gauntlet yelped and sprang away.  
"You fool." KK said, holding up his hand. "The ring is a part of us. You cannot do anything. Save die in agony."

"Says you! SCHWARZ BRUDE-wait I did that alrea-AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Gauntlet yelled as the three Black Lanterns combined their rings and blasted him backwards with intense force. He crashed down the street, bouncing several times before stopping. He groaned, even as the dark laughter of his enemies echoed in his ears.

"I miss the Arbor Day special…" Gauntlet groaned, pushing himself up. Cipactli popped up nearby, which made Rob feel oddly grateful. For some reason, he got the feeling she was hanging around through a great effort of will.

"It didn't work." Cipactli said grimly.

"Relax. I'm just going to go in there. Step on its neck. And shoot it in the head. Because that's how I roll." Gauntlet babbled, before smacking himself across the face. "How's your system?"

"Still broken."

"Right. Guess it's just down to the ol' Gauntlet then. Ugh." Gauntlet grunted, as he briefly became dizzy once more, forcing himself to smack himself a few more times. "Focus man, focus! Can't use the damned thing without focus…"

"…pardon?" Cipactli said.

"This grows tiresome, Candide." Dr. Knott said as he approached with the other Black Lanterns. "It's time to die. You and the rest of this whole universe."

"God, I miss the good old days when Slade was just trying to molest Robin or something."

* * *

Slade Wilson was incapable of missing his old weapons, and so he just made do with his ring, as the twin black swords clashed together.

"Stole your power…from the master. There will be…a reckoning for that, weakling." Slade said.

"Oh bother, you too?" The Lord said, forming claws on his free hand and slashing. Slade dodged them effortlessly, the Lord carving pieces out of the surrounding ground. "Maybe that's where I started, servant of whoever. But I've long since advanced past that. Much like you and your old drug testing, not that that will SAVE YOU!"

Slade leapt over the slash, kicking the Lord in the head in the process. The Lord swung his sword back around, unencumbered by such normal factors as weight, but Slade ducked under that attack and rammed his sword through the Lord's chest.

"UGH!" The Lord grunted, clawing at Slade. Slade spun away and around the Lord, forming another sword and ramming it into his back.

"I don't need it to."

---------------------------------------------------

"Rarrrggghhhhh! What's with this blasted axe!" The White Hole snarled as she continued to smash her way through her Black Lanterns. "The edge is dulling! That stupid…!"

"Die!" Toby yelled, firing a spear of power at the White Hole's throat. She dodged to the side, the attack impaling through her shoulder instead. All she did was grin, as she ran along the length of the still-impaled-in-her ray and slashed Toby's arm and most of his head off. She grunted, then swung the axe around and buried it in Geoffrey Tercero's face. She did not know that the nature of the Lord's powers stalemating the Black Lantern's own was continuing, but she didn't care. If it was losing its cutting effectiveness, she would just use it as a club!

---------------------------------------------------

Robrostra flew past the White Hole, barely noticing her. He did stop upon seeing Stephen and Rudy, who had been knocked away from the main body by the alien's assault.

"That human stands between us and our revenge! Get her!" Robrostra said, pointing at Empyrean. The two Black Lanterns, thinking the human girl might be an easier target then the White Hole, went after her. Their blades tore at her body, but Empyrean endured it, charging forward and leveling the duo with punches.

---------------------------------------------------

An explosion blasted Savior through a wall, even as Terra launched stone pillars at the Versaws and Morgue fired her cutting ray and pistol at the Stones, having run out of ammo for her mini-missile cannon. Starfire slammed Charm's face into the ground, feeling the skull give and knit back together beneath her fingers.

"Got any new tricks Cy?" Beast Boy yelled as he managed to kick Angila Mathews away as a kangaroo, even as Cyborg riddled Elginbrod with bullets from his gatling cannon until he ran out of ammo.

"I…might…if only-ARGH!" Cyborg yelled as Angila returned and ripped off a chunk of his knee with a clawed hand. Beast Boy growled and turned into a brontosaurus, lashing at Angila with his tail.

---------------------------------------------------

With a loud clang, the Original White Hole knocked away Inertia's second sword. It clattered to the ground, as Inertia dashed backwards out of the alien's grip, looking both surprised and annoyed.

"Good, you have the speed and finesse to use it, but your actual sword technique is lacking. Now get out of my way."

"Out of order, no, and, lacking you say?

Uncountable blows smashed into the Original White Hole. Inertia blurred into sight nearby a second later, shaking his hands and looking at his foe. She staggered briefly before once again righting herself, having absorbed the attacks without apparent ill effect. Again. She offered him nothing but a slightly aggravated sign, a clawed hand rubbing her chest as her head shook from side to side.

"Would you kindly get out of the way?"

Inertia growled and blasted away, a trail of fire exploding across the ground as he retreated from the alien. She stood still a moment.

The spinning kick she unleashed out of nowhere ripped her foot off when it struck the charging-in speedster, but it also tripped Inertia up in mid-blow, and he yelled as he went crashing along the ground. He came to a stop after several dozen feet and tried to stand up, and then collapsed again with another yell. The damn alien had somehow predicted him. And she'd sacrificed a limb to ensure he twisted his ankle.

Her sacrifice, however, was temporary, as her foot flew back and re-attached. Inertia spat in frustration.

"If you insist on this course, I'll help you." The Original said, and dashed towards her enemy.

---------------------------------------------------

"You can't win, broken bird." Shadowmaster said, moments before Raven grabbed him out of his portal lunge and ripped him in half. That gave Murdercrow time to fire arcing bolts of energy that Raven felt tear through her cloak and sear her torso and legs. Raven turned and retaliated with her own blasts of power, only for Shadowmaster's legs to fly out of a portal and smash both feet into her face, sending her plummeting to the ground.

The Lord slashed at Slade, but missed once more as Slade dodged away and rammed another sword through him. The Lord's eyes flashed, and the ground where Slade had been exploded. Slade himself had leapt into the air, and as the Lord looked up he came down, ramming yet another sword directly between the Lord's eyes.

Slade landed and flipped away, even as the Lord fell to one knee. The Black Lantern blades dissolved, but the wounds remained, hissing black smoke.

"Your power grows weaker and weaker in the face of us. Your fellows, if I may call them that, can't do much better than you. We grow stronger by the second, every one of your breed joining our ranks. Our truth." Slade said. The Lord touched the smoking scar on his face. Pain. So unfamiliar without the sun.

"…two things, Black Lantern." The Lord said, slowly standing. "One, you're not Slade Wilson. Slade was no one's eager puppet, nor parrot."

"What does it matter?"

"It's about to." The Lord said.

The spinning red blade flew through the air and buried itself in Slade's forehead. Slade's eyes turned up at the blade moments before it exploded.

"What pleasure that gave me, you'll never know."

The red-and-green formed dropped down on a nearby rock perch. The Lord looked at the sight, not exactly surprised.

"…ROBIN!" Starfire called out.

"…dude, all right." Beast Boy said, also seeing the Titans' time-honored leader. Robin had had his own bad day. He'd already gone through hell once in Gotham. But when that had been turned back, and he'd realized he'd been sent an emergency signal, he'd known he was needed elsewhere.

Fortunately for him…

"…Robin." Slade said, his head having already reformed. "So you are the cavalry?"

A gigantic bolt of lightning blew Murdercrow and Shadowmaster out of the sky as they came for Raven. Other Black Lanterns were suddenly floored by gigantic blows of their own, before a blurring yellow figure brought them all together.

"No!" Kid Flash yelled.

_Superboy._

_Wonder Girl._

_Miss Martian._

_Flamebird._

_Red Devil._

_Ravager._

_Blue Beetle._

_Static._

_Young Justice-RISE._

"WE'RE THE CAVALRY!"

…He had a very good organizer on his speed dial.

* * *

"Okay Kip, here's Plan E. It's a lot like Plans A and D, except this time, it works." Gauntlet said.

"Wait wait wait, what did you say about your weapon?"

"The Gauntlet? I need focus and stuff, though in a pinch towering rage will do."

"Your weapon is based on willpower?"

"Um, yeah, I mean there's something in there about it messing with my biochemistry and stuff, but a lot of it's will-ACK!" Gauntlet yelled as the Black Lanterns fired at the pair. Gauntlet grabbed Cipactli and leapt backwards. The tech-based hero fired three quick blasts from her helmet as Gauntlet carried her, blasting the Black Lanterns backwards.

"Nice shooting."

"I don't have much power left, again. But I have a plan." Cipactli said.

"If it's to staple hamsters together to create a fifth-dimensional construct that will bombard the enemy with raw cute, I already considered it…"

"WHAT? No, quiet!" Cipactli said. "These creatures are using weapons like Green Lantern rings. Those are based on willpower. It's…possible that there might be enough relation between their variant and your weapon for it to work."

"For what?"

"Power rings are fueled by will. There have been cases of enemies grabbing Green Lanterns and almost taking their rings away because they had the stronger will." Cipactli said. "If you can engage in a power lock with them, you might be able to turn it into a test of will. Beyond that…I don't think we have much of a chance."

"…we'll call it Plan F."

"No. This small chance is probably the only thing can render their rings vulnerable. Utilize your common ground, and then use it to change them. Nothing else has worked, and I doubt anything else WILL work." Cipactli said. "Gauntlet, you said it yourself. You didn't get on the Titans by accident. These creatures want to kill you, your family, and everyone you love. Unless this works, THAT'S WHAT THEY'LL DO."

"…I hate it when it all comes down to this hunk of pig iron. It's such a crap shoot." Gauntlet said.

"Best roll the dice. They're coming."

"Fine. I can do this. Plan E abandoned. Plan F, go!" Gauntlet said, and charged forward.

Cipactli watched, and wondered if she would have enough time to run away if the Black Lanterns took their time murdering their hated enemy.

* * *

Robin really didn't know why Slade Wilson, brought back from the dead, was fighting with who appeared to be the Lord of the Night. The possibilities both alarmed and angered him. But at the moment, all that mattered was saving Jump, and his team.

So he'd assembled them, through Bart. Some of them had already fought Black Lanterns. For some, like the Kryptonian/human hybrid and child of the speed force on either side of them, they'd known death themselves.

And all of them would be damned if they'd surrender anyone to it.

"Good to be back in Jump. Too bad there's so much trash." Superboy said. "LET'S GO!"

Young Justice leapt to the attack, as Robin jumped down near Slade. Two females joined him.

"Hello father." Ravager said, drawing her katana.

"…so this is what you've made of yourself, Rose? You've sided with the people who killed me?"

"You chose to die, Father. I've made my own choice." Ravager said. "I wanted you to rest in peace. I will see to it."

"As will I." Robin said, as he whipped out his staff.

With a dark chuckle, the Lord floated up and left, Robin and Ravager charging to meet Slade and Flamebird hurling projectile weapons after them.

---------------------------------------------------

"Hands off the bird lady!" Static yelled, flying back to Shadowmaster and Murdercrow and blasting them with more electricity. "Hey Raven! I don't know what you have planned, but you better hurry up!"

"…thanks Static." Raven said as she flew off.

"Hey no problem. I just got dumped, and I got a trillion volts of lightning running through my veins that needs a HOME!" Static yelled, as Murdercrow returned fire with her electrical imitation blasts and Static met it with the real deal.

---------------------------------------------------

"Excuse me!" Blue Beetle yelled as he blasted Latrisha Dryce with a missile and sent her flying away. "Hey Star! Did you get those web comics I sent you?"

"I clicked the wrong button and deleted them." Starfire said sadly.

"What? Oh, good thing I saved it IN DRAFTS THEN!" Blue Beetle yelled, as a light post turned into a crushing hand before Blue Beetle formed a blistering heat laser and melted it to slag. Starfire turned around and flew at Charm, leveling her with a punch.

"WHAT IS THIS? YOU SINNERS RECRUIT DEMONS THEMSELVES NOW?" Elginbrod yelled as Red Devil dropped nearby.

"Blah blah blah." The unfortunately-metagened hero replied, and breathed a blast of fire so hot Beast Boy felt it from 30 feet away, incinerating Elginbrod's screaming face.

"Damn! Okay Victor, let's go help our teammates!" Beast Boy said, turning into a cheetah and running off. Cyborg, having lost sight of Angila, followed.

It was not Angila who blasted him, as twin beams of darkness flew from the sky and slammed into Cyborg, hurling him nearly a hundred feet before he came crashing down.

"No more delays, son." Silas said.

"The piper's singing." Latrisha said.

"……………not ready to get off the stage yet." Cyborg said, and aimed his sonic cannon and fired.

---------------------------------------------------

Terra stumbled across some shattered road, her limbs on fire and her mind feeling like she'd driven it into a tar pit. She'd pushed herself hard today, maybe too hard…

"NO ESCAPE!" Caroline Versaw yelled, flying in with multiple blades.

A triceratops crashed into her, knocking her away in time for Beast Boy to turn into a gorilla and leap after her, smashing the Black Lantern away before he bounded back to Terra.

"Says you." Terra said. "What's going on?"

"Backup just arrived."

"All right! Maybe we can actually…!"

The black blast crashed down from the heavens, blowing the pair of Titans through the sky. Terra shoved away the debris and pulled a landing pad of dirt under her, as Beast Boy turned into a monkey and landed safely on it.

"Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile." Godsend said. "The wicked have no fate but the fires of hell."

"…okay dude, now I'm REALLY getting annoyed." Beast Boy said. "I should be DEAD! My father managed to save my life. His HIGHLY EXPERIMENTAL NO TIME TO TEST cure gave me my powers! If I'm really so damn evil, then why did that happen to me? Why didn't I just DIE?"

"…yeah! I've moved the planet with my brain! I've overdone it so many times I'm amazed I'm not a stone statue!" Terra echoed. "I'm still here! I haven't blown a gasket yet! How come God lets me live if I'm so damn evil?!"

"The devil takes care of his own." Godsend said.

"THE DEVIL HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH OUR POWERS! THEY'RE COMPLETELY BIOLOGICAL!"

"His lies may fool you, but not me. I know evil. I shall abstain from all appearance of evil."

"Dude, my power only appears evil if you're already inundated in the quasi-Christian 'fear the devil!' cult-think that spawns nutcase fundamentalist murderers like you." Beast Boy said, standing up. "I'm done talking. You can shut the hell up as well."

"MY LIPS WILL NEVER CEASE SPEAKING OUT AGAINST THE ENEMIES OF THE LORD! IN HIS NAME!" Godsend bellowed, firing a deadly web of flaming swords.

The fist smashed him into the ground, as Wonder Girl flipped off the blow and landed near the two Titans.

"Need a hand?"

Twin beams of black light flew towards the child of a god. Fortunately for Wonder Girl, she'd put her bracelets on before she'd come to fight, and was able to deflect the attacks.

"Hello again, son." Mark Logan said, his wife at his side.

"…yeah. Would help." Beast Boy said, as Godsend flew back up with another roar and the Black Lanterns came for them.

---------------------------------------------------

"You should have considered other choices in your life. Warrior does not suit you." The Original White Hole said, approaching Inertia. The speedster had managed a few dodges, but it was clear that his ankle was slowing him up. To the Original, that was all that mattered.

"Get bent."

"…I don't know what that means-"

"IT MEANS THIS!" Kid Flash yelled as the Original went flying. He'd run in so fast he'd punched the Original in the gut before his words started coming out. "Hey, need a…"

Kid Flash froze.

"…THAWNE?"

"Not exactly, Flash. How nice to see you again." Inertia said.

"…Versaw." Kid Flash said. "Are you TRYING to piss me-"

"SAVE IT FLASH!" Inertia yelled, as the Original surged up behind the speedster. Who found, much to his alarm, some of his hair was a bit shorter after he dodged.

"Seems I have to contend with two." The Original said.

"Watch it. She may not be as fast as us, but she has good eyes." Inertia said.

"Really." Kid Flash said, and blurred away. He re-appeared a few seconds later.

"…and just what did that do?" The Original said.

Superboy and Miss Martian slammed into the Original, and as the alien recovered both hammered her with heat and Martian-vision.

"I have friends."

---------------------------------------------------

"Ugh!" Dr. Westminster said as he was knocked onto his rear end, his riot shield cracked in the process. "This is not going as I wish it would!"

"When does it ever?" Nightwalker said, as she fired a spray of orbs at Mitch Mori. The Black Lantern ignored them, going for the female vigilante and hacking at her with ragged scythes. Nightwalker deflected them with her sword, but the Black Lantern used her distraction to fly forward, grabbing the vigilante by the throat and hurling her away.

"Now I have you you little whore…" Mitch rasped, turning towards his daughter. Marissa screamed and tried to run, only for Mitch to lash out with a black line and trip her up. "No more running! Time for fun!"

Dr. Westminster really didn't want to know what Mitch would have done with the construct he'd hurled at Marissa, as he threw himself in front of her. His shield went flying; worse, his shotgun had been lost earlier.

"BASTARD!" Mitch yelled. Dr. Westminster turned and threw himself over Marissa. The Black Lantern claw tore across his back, ripping a massive chunk of bone off in a bloody spray. Dr. Westminster screamed in agony as his vision blurred and his brain threatened to shut down, which allowed Mitch to grab him and hurl him aside.

"Nothing can save you. Nothing ever could. You are mine. You were always mine." Mitch Mori said, as Marissa scrambled away. "Mine…always…"

"No."

Raven seized Mitch with a massive claw, and with a scream of anger ripped the Black Lantern to pieces. The undead entity shrieked, before the Lord appeared before him.

"Your contract law skills need work." The Lord said, and blasted the pieces into the distance. "Disgusting cockroach."

"…that was Mitch Mori." Raven said.

"Yes."

"…but why would…wha…" Raven said, confused.

And then a terrible piece of the puzzle clicked into the place. She knew why the Lord's aide seemed familiar. She had the _exact body type of the girl from last year._

But why would MITCH MORI be…unless…how…

Marissa stared up as Raven turned shocked, confused eyes on her. Marissa's expression mirrored Raven's under her mask.

"Raven!" The Lord said, flying over to the Titan. "There's no time for this! We have to start!"

"…You…what did you…what…" Raven whispered.

"RAVEN. NO. TIME." The Lord snapped. "We have to act or all your friends and loved ones are dead!"

For a second the second pair of eyes flashed on Raven's forehead, but they again faded. Her rage was terrible, but her discipline was greater.

"Let's go." Raven said, and the two floated up.

* * *

"_Owwwwwwwwwwwww. Watch it Mom!" Robert Candide groused as his mother wrapped tape around his bruised ribs._

"_Don't move that pork chop an inch, mister!" Miho Candide replied._

"_I hate it when you go into field medic mode." Robert said, as he put said piece of meat back over his eye. "Where's dad's super med tech when I need it?"_

"_You come to me with a scrape? I'll express sympathy. You come home with real injuries? You get the field medic. You're just lucky Grandma June isn't home. She just got a new shipment of iodine in." Miho said. "And your father's technology is for emergencies. Patching this up with that would cost the taxpayers a hundred thousand dollars. You can heal up naturally. You'll learn a better lesson about dodging next time."_

"_I wish I had a secret identity."_

"_You think I wouldn't find out?"_

"…_point." Gauntlet said, as his mother headed back into the kitchen. Gauntlet turned his remaining eye on the other room's inhabitant: Pangloss, the godling who had given Robert the artifact that had let him become a superhero and then promptly set himself up as a mooching boarder in Robert's house. At the moment, said godling was eating pretzels and watching a Seinfeld rerun._

"_I thought you said this thing offered protection." Robert said._

"_It does. If you use it right." Pangloss said._

"_Well, how do I use it right?"_

"_Practice. See, that thing isn't a remote control. It's an extension of your soul, your willpower. You put biochemical energy into it and out comes a greater amount of magical and/or unique energies. So it's limits are your limits."_

"_I don't suppose you brought a user's manual."_

"_I am the user's manual. You just got three beers worth of information. Chop chop!"_

"_I'm not supposed to move this pork chop. Mom said so."_

_Pangloss twitched at that. For some reason, the godling feared Miho._

"_Fine, you can owe me later. Interest is one soda."_

"_Well, as long as I'm running a tab, tell me what this Gauntlet CAN'T do."_

"_It can't make a square circle. It can't tell you what yellow smells like. It can't figure out what noise a tree makes falling in the forest makes when its not around. It's CRASH, by the way. I learned that from an alien."_

"_I meant what can't it do when it I need it to keep me alive!"_

"_That, my boy, is up to you. Now shut up, it's the Sponge episode."_

"Okay Rob, eye of the Tiger. Eye of the Tiger." Gauntlet said as he approached the Black Lanterns. "They need a hero. You're the best around. Set your heart on fire! You're flying high now!"

"Do you really think rambling song lyrics will save you, boy?" Dr. Knott said.

"No. I think I'll save me. With the glory that is Plan F, I can beat you with one hand."

The three black beams flew out and crashed into Gauntlet's chest, sending him tumbling backwards. He landed hard, coughing up blood as Cipactli looked on with alarm.

"Plan F, I'm warning you, Plan G is just WAITING for you to trip and fall…!" Gauntlet coughed as he staggered back up, only for the Black Lanterns to blast him again before he could blink. Gauntlet didn't have anything witty to say to this, mainly because breathing hurt too much.

"Enough of this, Knott. His nonsense has delayed us far longer than it should have." Scaramouche said.

"I agreeee. Let's just kill him and be done with it." K.O.B.R.A Kommander said. "I have some new ideas for his mother…"

"Yes. Enough is enough." Dr. Knott said, holding out his ring. "Goodbye, Candide."

The three black beams flew out.

The golden energy met them…and stopped them.

"Yeah, where's your Cthulhu now?!" Gauntlet spat through bloody lips. "I'll show you…"

"That damn girl!" Dr. Knott said. Gauntlet blinked, then glanced behind him. Cipactli was there, her arms out and her equipment flashing and smoking. Apparently, she'd given the power deflection ability she'd managed to create one last hurrah. For all Gauntlet knew, he hadn't done a darn thing to stop the power from the rings.

He also knew that Cipactli's aid would run out in seconds, if that.

"…One last reprieve, Candide." Gauntlet said, as he turned back, his eyes narrowing. "You can't rely on the team any more. Sink or swim time."

* * *

The top of the piece of rubble shattered as Cyborg was hammered through it. He bounced off the ground once and then dragged to a stop, pushing himself up a second later, the gashes and wounds on his body sparking, human blood mixing with machine blood.

"This is what I made. My finest work. Dragged down to worthlessness to the flesh I attached it to." Silas Stone said.

"It failed to save me. Failed to save anyone. Including himself." Latrisha said, and fired a crushing blow into Cyborg's chest. This time, he kept his feet, ripping a groove into the ground as he was pushed back.

"Just like he couldn't protect me." Elinore said, appearing from the dust. "A failure all around. How fitting to die as one."

"…God. I realize it now. How hard you're trying to add to my regrets." Cyborg said. "…Not going to work any more, you things. I know how those I've lost would talk to me. Maybe they'd have their own anger…but they'd hate you more."

"DIE MONSTER!" Elinore shrieked, firing another blade. Cyborg leapt out of the way, crashing back down.

In his head, his computer pinged. A proximity alert. Cyborg stared for a moment…and then understood.

When he'd been in full robot mode, his computer had attempted to call for aid. One of those calls had been on the Titan-wide band, alerting Robin and causing him to call Kid Flash to assemble Young Justice.

The other had been to his car, and what was inside it. The damage caused by the fight had stalled the vehicle's attempt to make contact with him, and Cyborg had been too busy upon returning to normal to notice.

Fate, however, had smiled on him. Re-affirmed the truth, and what he had to do.

"Initiate."

"_Acknowledged. Initiating Form Zero."_

Nearby, the T-Car shuddered, lying on its top, before the hood of the car forcibly blew off and rolled it back upright. With a whine of servos, the trunk popped up, and multiple objects launched from within the care.

"And if you have a problem with what my father built, monsters…" Cyborg said, the Black Lanterns watching.

The machinery flew from the dust, homing in on Cyborg and attaching to him. New plates of armor snapped onto his chest. Gauntlets slammed onto his forearms, and weapon packs on his legs. A large jet pack snapped onto his back. And a helmet lowered onto his head, turning his red and human eye both gold, even as a mouth plate snapped up and two curved horn-like blades locked onto his cranium.

"You can take a look AT MY IMPROVEMENTS!" Cyborg yelled, and launched off enough missiles to impress a Macross jet pilot. The Black Lanterns recoiled from the overwhelming firepower, even as Cyborg's arms adjusted and ignited, twin swords of burning energy emerging from the forearms even as Cyborg's jet pack erupted into flame.

"RIGHT! UP! CLOSE!" Cyborg roared, and took to the air, slashing with his weapons.

---------------------------------------------------

"Damn it, I think we lost them!" Scalpel cursed, even as Myth continued to fistfight with Crystal. Crystal, however, was the only Black Lantern left: Scalpel and Morgue had indeed lost the other four.

"This is a lot harder than it…" Morgue began, and then turned into a cloud of bats. The flying blades still killed a few of the poor creatures despite Morgue's dodging attempt, and she reformed by Scalpel, clutching her side.

"You're more slippery than a pig." Angila Mathews said. Morgue snorted.

"I suppose that means Son is going to come back now." Scalpel said.

"Hardly!"

Scalpel leapt out of the way of the deadly spears, dragging Morgue with him. Two spears, to be specific.

"But we owe you too, alien!" Stephen Pierce said, Toby Garigen with him.

"God, someone needs to compile a spread sheet for who's got a grudge with who." Scalpel said, and brought his war hammer back up. "Okay, who wants a free reflex text first?"

---------------------------------------------------

"For your collective ages, you possess remarkable abilities." The Original said, looking at the battered faces of Superboy, Miss Martian, and Kid Flash. Elijah had not been lying (though he'd ran off when he'd had their backs turned, that rat bastard). This Black Lantern was GOOD. "Those abilities, however, do not make up for experience or common sense. Now, get out of my way so I can find another I said that too."

"How about no." Superboy said, and flew towards the White Hole. She clotheslined him out of the air, and then whirled and caught Kid Flash with the outer part of her backhand as he tried to ambush her. Even as Kid Flash crashed across the ground, Miss Martian brought every bit of her alien strength into a flying kick to the Original's face. The mask cracked apart, then swiftly reformed as Miss Martian goggled.

"The legends did not lie." Miss Martian said.

"No, probably not." The Original said, and grabbed for Miss Martian's head. Much to her lack of surprise, her hand went through the other alien, as Miss Martian turned intangible.

"So you Martians did have such fine control of your molecular structure." The Original said, as she turned around and began to viciously stomp on Superboy. The Kryptonian, not yet recovered, was helpless under the assault, as the Original rained down blows.

"NO! STOP!" Miss Martian yelled, as she phased back into being, and literally a microsecond later the Original had snatched Superboy up and hurled him into Miss Martian, knocking them both away.

"As much as I want to be merciful, I have given you every opportunity to leave and let me deal with my business. Your refusal means you don't want me to be merciful, therefore I give you the other thing I can at the moment." The Original said, as Miss Martian and Superboy got up, dazed. "War."

The clawed hand seized the Kryptonian, but it was not the Original's hand.

"STAY OUT OF THIS NOW!" The White Hole yelled, tossing Superboy and Miss Martian aside. The two crashed down into some nearby rubble.

"…god, you villains suck!" Kid Flash yelled, and with a blaze of light he was gone.

"Hello master. GOODBYE CORPSE!" The White Hole yelled, as she charged in. The Original dodged away…as the White Hole did likewise, the two aliens spinning around each other before the living alien brought her massive axe down.

CLANG.

The Original had finally done it. She'd finally used her ring, to form a shield. To the White Hole, that was all the motivation she needed.

"Ah, yes…a great axe." The Original said. "This is actually going to prove a challenge; you were always good with those."

"Yes, I am." The White Hole said, and surged forward with another attack.

---------------------------------------------------

Swords and staffs clashed repeatedly, as Robin and Ravager expertly whirled around Slade, their weapons unable to touch each other. Slade Wilson tried to cheat, snapping his head aside to avoid another Flamebird projectile while simultaneously re-forming his sword into a gun.

He managed to get some of Ravager's mask as she snapped her head to the side.

"Too slow father." Ravager said.

"Perhaps, but how long can you keep this up, Rose?"

"Just a few more seconds."

"Pardon?"

"Hi." Superboy said, and flattened Slade with a punch.

---------------------------------------------------

Empyrean was no slouch herself in the punching department, as she laid out Geoffrey Tercero with her own punch. She looked around, trying to find her next target.

The black lines seized onto her from behind.

"Now I have you!" Robrostra Son snapped, as he sent piercing blades on lines towards Empyrean's eyes and mouth. If the human wench proved so tough on the outside, he would just go after her on the inside. He'd done it before.

"AHHHHH!" Empyrean screamed, clawing at her face, trying to fend off the attack. Rudy Bialas joined the effort, sending a storm of black daggers into Empyrean's unprotected body. Raw panic exploded through the girl, her being lighting up with yellow before the Black Lantern's eyes.

"Ha ha ha ha ha! This is fun." Luther Venias said, as he sent out a black jack in the box construct that leapt out and closed its ragged jaws on Empyrean's leg. The girl screamed again, lost beneath the frenzy…

The light speed blows hammered into all the non-alien Black Lanterns, knocking them away.

"What?" Robrostra said. A second later a sword impaled through his head. He broke off the attack as he yelled, clawing at the weapon.

"…Elijah?"

"Not quite." Kid Flash said as he appeared in front of the young woman. Inertia appeared a moment later and considerably slower. He may not have been able to run, but he could still charge things with speed, and with a thrown blade, that could be very effective.

"…why?" Inertia said.

"You wouldn't understand." Kid Flash said. "Protecting is more important than grudges."

Inertia was silent.

"Go! Get them!" Robrostra yelled, ordering the three Black Lanterns from the rear as they charged in anew.

"Great, now what…" Inertia said. Red Devil picked that time to crash past the trio.

"Sorry, they ganged up on me." The demonic-looking metahuman said. Inertia grit his teeth and turned towards where Red Devil had come from. He knew what was coming.

"Time to settle this, son." William Versaw said. Caroline and Elginbrod dropped down near him.

"…Flash…I know you hate me…but…"

"Yeah." Kid Flash said, and blazed off as he slammed into Caroline. Inertia briefly lowered his head, and then forced his rage and adrenaline to ignore the pain in his ankle as he seized up his remaining sword and more Black Lanterns came for him.

"…are you really a demon?" Empyrean said, alarmed.

"Just an unfortunate power, miss." Red Devil said.

"I KNEW IT! YOU DO CONSORT WITH DEVILS! YOU WILL BURN FOR…!" Elginbrod got out, before fire ignited anew and spewed forth from Red Devil's mouth. Empyrean stared, clenching her fist, and then she leapt after the fire, punching the thing that dared to impersonate her father.

---------------------------------------------------

Blue Beetle had had some idea of what to expect. That had lasted until he saw Starfire incinerate her Black Lantern's head with a Starbolt, only for the flesh to grow back, as Charm laughed merrily.

"_Dios Mio."_ Blue Beetle said, before turning his attention the mystical scarab that was fused with him, serving as the source of his powers and an advisor for various situations. "You saw that! What do we do?"

**STRONGLY SUGGEST USING NUCLEAR WARHEAD: TACTICAL.**

"No! Next option!"

**FLEE.**

"Also not happening. Door 3!"

**PLASMA CANNON TARGETED AGAINST THEIR RINGS. FULL POWER. TOTAL DISINTEGRATION THE ONLY EFFECTIVE STRATEGY.**

"I can do that. HEY YOU!" Blue Beetle yelled, forming a plasma cannon and aiming at Charm. The Black Lantern turned around and yelled, and beings of stone ripped their way out of the ground, Charm's animation power charged with Black Lantern energy. "YIKES!"

The plasma cannon managed to shoot down all the constructs, as Starfire flew forward and grappled with Charm. The Black Lantern hurled the alien away, as Blue Beetle lined up a shot.

He missed. Several times.

**LEARN TO AIM BETTER.**

"Yeah yeah yeah!" Blue Beetle said, as he finally got a lock. "HOW'S THIS?!"

The beam flew out, striking the ring dead center.

It didn't even crack.

…**NUCLEAR WARHEAD: TACTICAL.**

"What if THAT doesn't work?" Blue Beetle said.

**RUN.**

---------------------------------------------------

"Need some help?" Miss Martian said as she joined Static in the air.

"Much appreciated!" The black hero said, as he fired off a stream of electrical balls. Miss Martian added to the effort with Martian vision…before a stream of fire exploded on her back. Static whirled around as the alien fell into his arms with a scream, her flesh writhing and bubbling.

"So was that." Sizzle said, rising up. "You want to cross Genocide? We'll show you black."

"…man, why everyone be hatin'?" Static said, and a lighting bolt flew down from the sky and blasted Sizzle into the ground.

---------------------------------------------------

Savior landed nearby, having see Sizzle turn away from him and rejoin her comrades. He had a feeling, deep down in his guts, what that mean.

"Noel."

Savior swallowed, and turned around to face Crystal Collins.

"Can I have that hug now?" Crystal said. Savior said nothing, his visage trembling. "Or maybe YOU CAN JUST DIE!"

The bladed hand ripped apart the ground where Savior had been standing. Savior landed a few feet away, trying to keep from hyperventilating and failing for the most part.

"Come on! Fight! For once in your life, FIGHT!' Crystal yelled, and disintegrated the rock Savior had been standing on once more, as Savior continued his retreat and grappled at the demons clawing at his mind.

---------------------------------------------------

"Oh Richard…you poor bastard…" Nightwalker said, as she tried to watch both Marissa, her injured comrade, and her strange significant other battle her undead mentor in the distance (it was not going well).

"Ow." Was Westminster's only reply, as he emptied half a bottle of painkillers into his mouth, fighting to dry-swallow them all. Nightwalker would normally be worried about him overdosing, but not this time.

"Why did you go and do something stupid like that?" Nightwalker said.

"You mean…why did I stick my neck out…when I don't do that?" Dr. Westminster coughed. "Look at her Sine. She's a victim, just like me. I may be selfish, but I'm not heartless. At least I can fight. She can't fight at all, it seems."

"…" Nightwalker 'said', and turned towards Marissa, who recoiled a bit from the sudden movement.

"Can he do this. Is this crazy thing he's going to try and do actually going to work?"

"…he does not fail." Marissa said.

"Yeah, that's what I expected." Nightwalker said, and turned her eyes to the sky.

* * *

Raven tried to block out all the chaos, all the danger her friends were in…and the way what she was about to do made her ill. Block it all out and focus, as she floated up above the battlefield, in a meditative position, chanting her mantra and bringing her focus to bear.

She was an empath. She could feel the feelings of others, and as time went on she had learned to manipulate this gift and curse in many ways. It was the power behind her healing ability: she took the pain of the wound and the injury vanished. It also aided in her telepathy, her scans, and many other things.

She could also, if she wished, do what the Lord had done. She could steal emotions from people. She did not like to do it, but she could. She saved it for the worst moments.

Now…

"**These Black Lanterns want, and feed on, emotion." The Lord said. "But they're not running around massacring thousands of innocents. They're seeking out singular targets. I believe this means that whatever system is used to steal and channel this emotion is not just doing it because attacking personal targets results in better 'material' or whatnot. I believe it is designed to only be able to do it one victim at a time."**

"**Wait a minute, designed? You're talking like they're some sort of machine." Terra said.**

"**They are, Titan." The Lord said. "To be specific, they're a variant of the Green Lantern rings, and Green Lantern rings are quasi-organic computers. That factor is pretty much the only chance we have. If it doesn't work…"**

"**Fine. They eat emotion one person at a time. What do you want to do, channel all our emotions into a big gun?" Beast Boy said.**

"**No. There's too much of a risk that won't be enough." The Lord said. "We have to hit them with as much emotion as possible. The best way to do that, is for Raven to steal every bit of emotion she can from every person she can. With my powers backing her up, she should be able to do that for several dozen square miles, at least."**

**The Titans stared at the Lord, and then at Raven, who was keeping a brave face even though she wanted to attack the Lord again. Both for what he suggested, and the fact that he was correct.**

"…**you want me to steal people's feelings, like they're some sort of…"  
"Come now, Raven. It's not like it will be permanent. We just need to gather up their emotions, all their fear and anger and hope and all that. And we force feed it to the Black Lanterns. An emotion bomb."**

"**How do we know they won't just absorb all that emotion anyway and you'll just rapidly speed up whatever they're stealing emotion for?" Cyborg said.**

"**I don't." The Lord said. "If you have another plan, I'm listening."**

**Silence.**

"**This emotion bomb will, if it works, overload the rings. Like pipes bursting." The Lord said. "This overload in turn will hopefully render the rings vulnerable, and if we can do that, we can actually have a chance. Raven and I will need to focus on the task: you'll need to keep the Black Lanterns off us while we do it."**

"**Will we be affected?" Beast Boy said.**

"**I'm not sure. Raven?"**

"…**the process will require considerable jury-rigging…but I will try." Raven said.**

"**Right then. Any other questions."**

"**Yeah, one more." Beast Boy said. "…do you have ANY IDEA how pulled out of your rear end that plan sounds?" **

"I'm ready, Raven. When you are." The Lord said, floating into Raven's vision. For one last brief moment, she almost threw it all away and went for him again.

She did not. If their positions were reversed, that was what the Lord would have done.

Instead, she began chanting.

* * *

Fear. Anger. Despair. Love. Compassion. Hope. Greed. Will. Sorrow.

For thousands of people, they never knew what happened. Their emotions abruptly left them, leaving them unnaturally calm. Left only with their minds, some people thought clearly for the first time in years, if ever. Others would have been terrified of what they'd become, if their ability to feel it hadn't been taken from them.

It flowed in from all over, as the Lord held out his hands and began focusing it. A rainbow ball of colors began to materialize in front of Raven: she grit her teeth and fought on through her own emotions. It was what had to be done…it was what was necessary.

More and more emotion became added to the spheres: with the dull noise of the world removed, Raven became aware just how sharp and intense the emotions of her friends were. They were fighting like mad, and even with their backup they were losing. She couldn't fail them. She would not fail them.

The Lord floated behind her, holding out a hand and adding to her efforts. Raven tried not to vomit at his presence. This was the hard part. The emotion was nearly gathered. Now she had to improvise the proper method to use it. There was no real way to work this out in advance: the technique was simply too hands-on. She would not fail though.

The emotion solidified, as Raven reacted to what was needed with her spells and powers, the Lord reinforcing her efforts. Almost there…almost…

"You know what the worst part is?" The Lord said.

Raven's heart turned to ice as she realized what was about to happen.

"Your friends know me too well."

And the Lord turned to face Raven and rammed his shadowy hand into her chest.

* * *

The psychic scream slammed into nearly all of the Titans' minds, staggering them and throwing them off guard. This proved to be a very bad thing, as the Black Lanterns realized it and pressed their attack.

The only four unaffected were Blue Beetle, Miss Martian, Ravager, and Cyborg. Blue Beetle had defenses, and hence was rather alarmed when Starfire suddenly grabbed her head, flying to her defense as Charm attacked, blasting her away. Miss Martian was a psychic herself, but was still recovering from Sizzle's fire attack and unable to do much about it. Ravager's mild precognitive talent told her what was coming, but that just prevented her Black Lantern father from killing her.

Cyborg, however, had different defenses than Blue Beetle. He was, after all, Raven's long time teammate, as he launched an orb from a shoulder cannon and turned to fly away. The explosion of force from the orb knocked back the Black Lanterns attacking him, as Cyborg flew up and scanned in towards the pair floating in the sky.

"…oh you bastard. You BASTARD!" Cyborg yelled, as he watched the Lord try and pull Raven's heart out. "I READ YOUR BOOK!"

Shining energy glowed on Cyborg's body, as he slammed his arms together, the appendages merging and forming into a giant cannon, cables snaking out of Cyborg's shoulders and merging with the weapon. His systems locked on, and Cyborg aimed at the Lord.

"SO SCREW YOU!"

The brilliant yellow blast exploded from Cyborg's weapon and flew across the sky. The Lord sensed it coming and turned towards it.

"…Oh?"

The blast smashed into the Lord and carried him away, his intangible hand pulling out of Raven's chest as she gasped. The Lord plummeted to the ground, crashing through another half-wrecked building before impacting with the ground.

"Raven? You all right?" Cyborg said, flying up to his teammate. Raven could only gasp, holding her chest. Cyborg did a quick scan, but saw no blood: his X-rays also revealed no damage. He'd gotten there before the Lord had succeeded in whatever he had been trying to pull, or pull out.

"Finish it! I'll finish HIM!" Cyborg yelled, flying back down.

"…wait." Raven finally managed to rasp out. "Cyborg, wait, no…!"

The Lord hissed as he stood up, his whole form smoking. Solar energy.

Which came hammering down on him from the sky, driving him into the ground with a yell. Cyborg crashed down a moment later.

"How do you like my new Canis Majoris Cannon?" Cyborg said, and blasted the Lord with another radiant burst of solar power, pinning him to the rock behind him. "Built it special just for you, you goddamn bastard!"

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…!" The Lord groaned.

"I knew you couldn't live up to your end. So this is YOUR end." Cyborg said, and blasted the Lord again. "Raven will deal with this. YOU'RE A DONE DEAL!"

Even as Cyborg blasted the Lord once more, Raven stared at the emotion orb, which was cracking at the seams. The full ramifications slammed into her.

But now it was too late.

"Ahhhhhhh…ahahahahahahahaha." The Lord said.

"WHAT'S SO FUNNY?"

"Or so they think." The Lord finished.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Raven screamed.

The orb exploded, and brilliant white light washed over Raven, swallowing her scream as it shone over the battlefield.

* * *

Despite his words, Gauntlet really wanted a miracle.

He'd take anything. His mom coming to look for him. Pangloss having his soaps cut off by his battle with the Black Lanterns knocking out the cable and appearing to turn them all into toads. Another new superhero called ScrewyouIwin Man falling out of the sky and beating the Black Lanterns with one punch each. Hell, he'd take a sixteen ton weight falling on the three.

He knew, deep down, none of those were coming. He was on his own, and if he screwed up this time, the nightmare would really begin.

With a yell of frustration, Cipactli's armor finally broke down completely, and her aid was withdrawn.

The good news was, her power hadn't fully held back the Black Lanterns.

The bad news was, she _mostly _had, as Gauntlet felt the pressure on his body increase tenfold. He staggered back, even as he felt his artifact begin to heat up on his arm.

"You have the Candide defiance. I think I'll skin you for that." Dr. Knott said, and the pressure increased even more. Gauntlet somehow maintained his feet, even as the concrete began to crack underneath him.

Cipactli stared in horror. Part of her hadn't expected anything, but despite herself, part of her had remembered about how superheroes could do the impossible. She should have known better.

She was done. Gauntlet could fight this battle his parents had started for him. She was getting out of Dodge, and…

The black beam flew around Gauntlet and just past Cipactli, the tech-user dodging with wide eyes. It stretched out and seized the building behind them, and as Cipactli goggled at the action, it yanked.

The entire building came down, collapsing across the street as Cipactli recoiled from the dust and the shockwave.

"No escape, girl." Scaramouche said. "Your life is also forfeit."

"Oh come on, you guys are just rude. Threatening to skin me one minute, cheating on me with her the next. I want zombie counseling!"

"Enough. Rip his tongue out." Dr. Knott said, and the blackness exploded anew against Gauntlet's counter-power, driving it back. Black power began bleeding around the edges, slicing across Gauntlet's body. He yelled and fell to one knee, blood soaking his shirt and pants.

"There is no escape. No chance for anyone." Dr. Knott said. "We serve death. He wishes to claim you all."

* * *

It was gone.

All the anger, all the hate, all the feelings that had driven Cyborg to attack the Lord, it was gone. Swept away.

"…what…did you do to me?" Cyborg said.

"I played a hunch." The Lord said, standing up, his smoking injuries gone as well. Cyborg strangely noticed that, an was curious why.

"What the hell was that?" Murdercrow said, staring at her hand. The Black Lantern ring on it was smoking.

"Let's find out." The Lord said, having somehow heard her, as he floated up, looked off into the distance, and fired. The beam streaked across the battlefield.

Luther Nevias never knew what hit him, as the blast struck his ring and broke it apart.

"…ha?" Luther said, and disintegrated to ash.

"…what?" Robrostra Son gasped. All the other Black Lanterns were coming to the same conclusion. "NO! THE RINGS! WE'RE SUPPOSED TO BE INVINCIBLE!"

"You have more troubles ahead then that." The Lord said, as Crystal Collins looked up from her own ring.

The Shimmer-enclosed fist smashed into her, knocking her backwards.

"You have to be stopped." Savior said flatly. Crystal looked in shock at her supposed son. It was all gone. All the tangled emotions were gone, replaced by a dull blank gray. Something had stolen away all his messy feelings, leaving just his rational mind. Which knew what needed to be done.

"I do love it when a plan comes together." The Lord said, and turned to Cyborg. "The rings are vulnerable. This won't last long. Seize the advantage."

In a burst of black mist, the Lord teleported away. Cyborg stared for a second, and then his jets ignited as he flew off to listen. Because what the Lord said was the truth, and it had to be done.

"YOU THOUGHT YOU COULD ES-!" Was all Silas Stone got out before Cyborg crashed into him, ramming him down into the ground. With no emotions to get in the way, there was no purpose in NOT following The Lord's advice.

"…this changes NOTHING." Angila said, as she formed multiple blades and lunged towards Scalpel. "YOU ARE JUST AS DE-!"

The gunshot rang out. The bullet blew off Angila's finger, the ring shattering in the process. Angila could only gasp, before her body broke apart and flew away.

"Goodbye mother." Morgue said,

"Time to finish this." Blue Beetle said, aiming his cannon at Charm. His shot missed, barely, and almost blew Starfire's head off. She did not respond, as she flew towards the Elijah-victim lanterns, rationalizing she could assist with its numbers better.

**MAGIC AGAIN. MAGIC ALWAYS. JAIME…ARE YOU ALL RIGHT?**

"I'm fine. Let's do this. Arm the tactical nuke, we may have to finish them all in one shot." Blue Beetle said flatly, as he flew off.

…**AND OF THE COLLATERAL DAMAGE YOU FEARED BEFORE?**

"They're superheroes. They can handle it."

…**I DO NOT LIKE THIS MINDSET JAIME. PLEASE RETURN AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, JAIME.**

Blood dripped from the White Hole's many wounds as she stood up straight. The Original stared, not really much caring what had just happened, as the injured alien tossed aside her axe and drew the rapier-like weapon.

"…I hated you. For all these years I hated you, but for all the wrong reasons." The White Hole said.

"I know."

"I was wrong to do what I did."

"I know."

"…the world is a darker place." The White Hole said, holding up the rapier. "Circumstances do not allow me to take back what I did. Or stay my hand."

"Nor mine." The Original said, and charged. The two dissolved into a frenzy of blades.

Myth stood still: without emotion he barely seemed able to react at all. Nearby, Raven pulled herself up from where she'd landed. With some caws, crows landed nearby.

Raven stared at the black birds, as it all washed over her. The Lord had played them, again, utilizing the on-the-fly nature of the emotion bomb perfectly. His 'attack' had been anything but: he'd been performing his final step in the process between them. Pain from Raven would have been needed to properly detonate the emotional creation, acting an acid to the sphere's 'base'. She'd known this.

But the Lord had known her team would not. There had been no time to raise the possibility beforehand, no time to give any warnings. Hence, when the Lord had done his 'duty', Cyborg had attacked him. In doing so, Cyborg, and by extent her team, had screwed everything up.

The bomb had gone off, but not perfectly. With the Lord's efforts removed from their team-up effort, Raven had been unable to stop the reaction caused by its unleashing. Like a normal explosive could suck in air, the bomb had stolen all the emotions of all her teammates in the process. Something Raven had gone out of her way to prevent.

It had not, however, rendered them vulnerable. That was the one part Raven could not make sense of. She'd thought that the Lord would have wanted all the Titans to go numb, losing their will to fight and their drive. If that had happened, there was no telling how many the Black Lanterns could have cut down. Instead, they seemed to have all transformed into machines, any and all hesitation about fighting the people the Black Lanterns were impersonating gone. On top of that, the overload of emotions seemed to have rattled the Black Lanterns as well. The Titans weren't just still fighting, they were winning. Why…

"Joe Ashton…" Whispered a dark voice in Myth's ear. "You must destroy the false image of your sister. Do it now, and fast."

Having been properly ordered, the command sufficing to make him act, Myth stomped forward. Raven watched the giant head off, the crows disturbed by his movements and fluttering around Raven.

Seven crows again. There were too many secrets.

"…he did something very strange." Nightwalker said, tending to Dr. Westminster's injury. Their emotions were gone, but not Westminster's physical pain, and so Nightwalker was helping with that. Nearby, Marissa Mori stood up. A moment later, the Lord appeared before her.

"Master." Marissa said, quietly and evenly.

"Now that that is out of the way." The Lord said.

"MARISSSSSSSSSSSSSSAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Mitch roared, charging in once again. "YOU _WILL_ BE MINE!"

"No." The Lord said, as he held out his Zweihänder. The giant sword shifted and contracted, reforming into a Chinese jian blade. "Now…Miss Mori. Deal with him. _MAKE HIM FEEL IT_."

The sword ignited with dark power, said power spreading down Marissa's armor, and the Lord's aide turned and charged towards her Black Lantern father, who drew up short at this sight.

"This can't be happening!"

Marissa's only response was a leaping slash.

"YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!" Came the scream, and the Lord vanished among fiery explosions and blasts of crackling power. He flew out of the blast, his cloaks flapping around him.

"YOU WON'T WIN! YOU WILL DIE!" Murdercrow screamed, as Genocide unleashed a torrent of blasts. The Lord blurred away, warping repeatedly around the sky to dodge the attacks.

"It's OVER, LORD! TIME TO MEET YOUR MAKER!" Shadowmaster yelled, warping through the sky himself and intercepting the Lord in mid-teleport. The two clashed for a moment before the Lord kicked Shadowmaster away.

"I am not ready to meet any Makers, of any stripe." The Lord said, as claws erupted from his right hand. "And whether any Makers are prepared for the great ordeal of meeting me is another matter entirely."

* * *

Gauntlet didn't like to think about the fact that he could die. Oh, he knew about it, but he kept it at the outer limits of his thoughts. Otherwise you ended up like Noel and started obsessing over 'the tactical viability of discovering a way to stimulate non-Newtonian liquids into constant motion to prevent settlement which renders the clothing useless to begin with' or the time he tried to mathematically work out the formula for just what changes in air pressure would be needed where to most likely cause a hurricane to hit Jump. Gauntlet just stayed careful and relied on his powers and his team to do the rest.

His team wasn't here. His powers didn't seem to be up to the task.

Fortunately, he still had his mouth.

"You call that eldritch bursts of unholy energy? My grandma makes more powerful bursts of unholy energy after taco night!"

The outpouring of energy increase even more. Gauntlet felt a blade fly past his head and chop off the top of his right ear.

"You m-missed you…"

"GAUNTLET!" Cipactli yelled. "Stop wise cracking! It's about focus, SO FOCUS!"

"I AM STRUGGLING TOGETHER! I MEAN FOCUSING!" Gauntlet yelled.

"It's not enough! Try-_HARDER!"_

"ARGH I AM SICK OF ALL OF YOU!" Gauntlet yelled, trying to ignite fresh rage. His position did not change.

"I won't die! I won't!" Gauntlet yelled.

"Your fate is inescapable."

"No it isn't! I've heard I'm doomed from everyone to Slade Wilson to Catman and Tabby the Boy Wonder, AND I'M NOT DYING IN SOME STUPID HOLIDAY SPECIAL THAT PROBABLY GOT HALF THE PLOT DETAILS FROM THE SOURCE MATERIAL WRONG BECAUSE IT ISN'T FINISHED YET!" Gauntlet yelled.

His position remained unchanged. Cipactli stared, not knowing what else to say…and found Gauntlet was looking at her.  
Gauntlet looked at the mystery woman, dragged into this mess. She'd given a weird name, acted oddly for someone who wanted to be a hero, and he was pretty sure she'd tried to run away once or twice. Yet she stayed. Maybe it was just to save her own skin…

"STOP LOOKING AT ME AND FOCUS!!!!!!!!!!!"

…Maybe in some way, she did believe in him. He'd take it.

"YEAH! DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?" Gauntlet yelled. "I am the Seventh Titan! The one who never lets the dark get him down! The idealist, or the fool, hell if I know! But I'm not giving up! You can break every bone in my body, burn away my blood, and pound my body to dust, but I'm not letting you get to my family! My friends! My…GODDAMN IT, MORE WE NEED MORE POWER YOU STUPID CRACKERJACK PRIZE! I'LL TAKE ANYTHING! A GUN FROM CHEKHOV! SOMETHING YANKED OUT OF A DONKEY! COME ON YOU STUPID GOD GET OUT OF _**MY MACHINE…!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"**_

The golden energy suddenly disappeared.

"Ah…!"

Then the Gauntlet itself suddenly ignited, an incandescent light erupting from its body. The Black Lantern Ring's rays disappeared as it appeared and began to expand, Cipactli staring in complete shock before she hit the ground and covered her head.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO! NO! NO! HOW! IMPOSSSSSSSSSSSSIBBBBBBBBBBBLLLLLLLLLLLLLLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE…!!!!!!!!!" Dr. Knott shrieked, as the white light engulfed the Black Lanterns. Gauntlet saw their bodies disintegrate under its touch, vanishing like they were shadows cast away.

He wanted to make a comment, and found none coming to mind.

A moment later, all that was left were the rings, as they shattered and exploded under the brilliant white light.

* * *

"No! This won't happen again! You bastard, you killed me! YOU KILLED ME! YOU HAVE TO PAY!" Toby Garigen yelled as he fired repeatedly at Inertia, who dodged away from the attack. All this did was ensure Toby never saw Kid Flash coming, as he snatched off the Black Lantern's ring and stomped on it. Toby died once more, again never knowing what hit him.

"AT LEAST THIS TIME YOU'LL BE FACE TO FACE WITH ME, YOU LITTLE SHIT!" William Versaw yelled, charging at Elijah.

Red Devil blasted William from the side, igniting his ring arm. The Black Lantern yelled, trying to put out the fire.

Inertia blurred into sight behind the Black Lantern. A moment later he exploded into ash, as Inertia held up his sword.

"No. I won't." Inertia said, even as various members of Young Justice pounced on his other victims and destroyed them. Empyrean had gotten ahold of her false father, and was beating him into the ground. Inertia figured he could do no less, and turned towards Caroline Versaw.

"You think this will mark the end of it?" Caroline said.

"I think plenty. I know little." Inertia said, and blazed forward.

---------------------------------------------------

"ARRGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Godsend shrieked, as Terra hammered countless tons of rock down on him, compressing it onto his body, his ring unable to free him. Beast Boy and Wonder Girl were brawling with Beast Boy's 'parents', leaving Terra to deal with the insane fundamentalist. Without her emotions, Terra was scarily proficient and precise in putting endless rock wherever she wanted.

"This can't happen…no…why do you forsake me o Lord…" Godsend said.

"I am not the one you should be speaking to." Terra said, and pinned Godsend's wrist to the ground with a dagger of stone.

"Accept God…renounce…Satan…"

"Now now, my good man, this is no time for making enemies." Terra said, and smashed a rock down on the ring. Godsend exploded into ash, consigned to whatever reward he'd earned once again. "…huh. I can actually remember quotes now."

---------------------------------------------------

Raven watched it all, the Black Lanterns being struck down one by one. She would have helped, but the imperfect spell had rendered that nearly impossible. Her powers had been drained to near-nothing in the premature detonation: probably something to do with her empath nature. She'd likely be a liability.

All she could do was watch.

---------------------------------------------------

"You think you can kill me, Cyborg? After you got me killed? You want that privali-!"

The sonic cannot blast blew off Latrisha's arm. Within half a second Cyborg had re-aimed and fired once more. The arm exploded, the ring on it shattering to pieces. Latrisha's eyes went wide as she fell to the ground, crashing down and exploding into dust.

"It is not." Cyborg said.

Black beams tore through his outstretched arm. Cyborg grunted and recoiled away, his main weapon arm going limp at his side.

"So this is what you are at heart. A monster! A beast just like the creature that killed me!" Elinore said, flying in. "KILL ME, BOY! KILL ME IF YOU DARE!"

Cyborg looked at his mother, and then reached to the side of his head.

"Boldness is not a factor."

The twin horn-blades erupted off Cyborg's head and flew through the air. One sliced off most of Elinore's fingers. The other found the ring.

Silas screamed as his wife exploded into ash, and took off towards Cyborg, screaming all the way.

The blades were not, however, done, as they whirled around and came down on Silas' hand in a cross-X blow.

Cyborg watched the Black Lantern die, and turned away. The horns settled back on his head.

"Accuracy matters far more."

---------------------------------------------------

"No! This isn't going to happen!" Robrostra Son yelled, as he barely dodged a blast of electricity from Static. "You will learn to fear me! Eventually! For now, you shall be granted mercy!" The Black Lantern yelled, as he took off backwards, flying into the bay.

Scalpel landed nearby, lifting his glaive.

"Nigacalnack! Well, at least I SHALL HAVE YOU!" Son yelled, as he fired off a mass of spears.

Once again, Scalpel waited before leaping into the air.

This time, he threw his glaive as he was doing so.

"…can't be." The Lieutenant said

The glaive pierced through Robrostra's hand and ring, the weapon flying through the cloud of ash the Blacktrinian became and falling into the water. Scalpel landed, his ragged cloak fluttering around him.

"In my assessment, it would be best if you were an aberration and not what our species offered to the universe." Scalpel said. Nearby, Black Lantern Charm hesitated, the alien no longer seeming like an easy target.

It cost her, as a massive blast of fire consumed Charm, who became aware of the nearby mass only a second before the fire came. Fire that was not from Red Devil. The blast had been far too big.

Charm's partially destroyed body recovered its sight just in time to see the massive jaws coming for her.

"NO!" Charm yelled, as Myth grabbed his sister, fully transformed into his true dragon form.

Once, Beast Boy had damaged his eyes. As a result, he didn't see very well.

He still heard Charm's screams, and felt her body rend and break between his teeth. It changed nothing.

Fire exploded in his chest once more, and he exhaled, vaporizing his sister as she let out one final cry.

Slowly, Joe Ashton turned back to normal, and knelt down, one hand on the ground. His task was done.

---------------------------------------------------

Slade crashed against a wall, his body a wreck. A moment later, heat vision, Starbolts, and a spray of energy blasts sent him crashing through said wall. It was happening all over again. Worn down by a plague of children. What was worse was the odd feeling he had that he was just another cog in the machine this time, instead of a deserving centerpiece.

"Slade." Robin said, landing nearby, Birdarang sword in one hand and staff in the other. "It's over."

"…perhaps." Slade said, and charged. Robin charged as well.

There was a mighty clash of weapons.

The two stopped after the attack…and Robin collapsed, blood running from his chest and arms, as Slade turned around, holding up his ring hand.

"You missed."

Ravager flew through the air, lashing out with her sword. She used the opening, and caught the ring, perfectly.

"…heh." Slade said, and disintegrated. Ravager landed, looking back at where her father had been, and sheathed her weapon.

---------------------------------------------------

Perhaps the greatest tragedy would be that no one really saw the final duel between master and student. Most anyone would have known they were seeing something special.

But after all that had been exchanged, the White Hole was on her last legs. All her efforts, all her skills, everything she'd learned since her actions all those centuries ago…it did not seem to be enough.

"I wanted…all you had…and in the end, neither of us has anything." The White Hole said.

"Yes, you destroyed everything for both of us." The Original replied. "Now all that remains is who will be the last to fall."

The two clashed again, rapier and claw, as Nightwalker dragged Westminster's body towards the fight, carrying him over her shoulder (there was no sense leaving him exposed to danger). She raised one arm, trying to get a shot, but the pair were moving too fast. Sparks flew. Blood splattered and sizzled.

The White Hole's rapier broke.

The blade almost seemed to dance through the air, as the Original slapped the White Hole's arm aside and buried her claws in her chest.

"Things don't change it seems." The Original said.

The White Hole's hand seized the Original's other one. The ring hand. The Original's eyes flicked towards the grip.

"Maybe." The White Hole said, and squeezed. "Maybe not."

The Original regarded her pupil. She should have tried to remove the hand from her chest, or struck back with intent to repay the pain she felt on the person who inflicted it. Instead…she'd gone for the important thing.

…all it took was taking away everything that had made her the creature she was.

"…Got there in the end, hun? Good, good." The Original said.

The ring shattered under the White Hole's grip, and her mentor turned to dust and blew away. The White Hole stared at the empty space she had been.

"I hated you…but yet I couldn't help but…" The White Hole said, and then spoke no more.

---------------------------------------------------

And Raven watched it all…in a way. For all the destruction and battle around here, her attention was drawn to only two fights.

Noel and his mother, and Mitch Mori and the Lord's aide.

Both had been unable to fight, their enemies' very presence reducing them to catatonic trauma. Even at his best, Savior's tactics had been to run away.

All that was gone now. Savior was fighting like a well-oiled machine, and the Lord's aide was actually being more reckless than she should have been, repeatedly slashing and stabbing when she could have possibly gone for a killing stroke. As a result, her armor was torn up…

And now so was her mask, as Mitch Mori lashed out and managed to claw her across the face.

"Little WHORE." Mitch said. Marissa turned back, the ragged ends of the mask fluttering around her. It had taken most of the attack, leaving her face with a few scratches. "DIE!"

Marissa dodged to the side to avoid the attack, slashing out and carving another wound in Mitch Mori. At the same time, Savior swung a two-ton piece of rock at the end of a Shimmer strand into Crystal's body, knocking her to the ground.

"I guess you're just like your father after all." Crystal said.

"You claim I am not like him, then claim otherwise. You speak nothing but lies." Savior said, and lanced out several Shimmer blades towards Crystal. Crystal flew to the side, forming a shield as Savior lanced another Shimmer spear at her with his other hand, and then slashing out with claws at the white energy.

It bounced off a black shield, and Savior recoiled and looked up at Raven, floating nearby, one hand up as she breathed heavily. She didn't have much power at the moment, but she knew how to use what she had.

"Still hiding behind something." Crystal said, landing nearby. "When you're dead, I'll make sure _you _rip her heart out."

Savior stared at Crystal, who laughed wickedly and then thrust out her ring. Dozens upon dozens of thorny lines flew towards Savior.

Savior held out his own hand, watching for a few seconds, and then fired. Shimmer lines flew out of his palm, corkscrewing towards the thorny lines and snaking around them.

"Hah." Crystal said, and her thorns abruptly fired out, impaling through the Shimmer and dropping Savior to his knees with a scream. "Failure."

"No."

The Shimmer line exploded from the ground. Crystal watched it slice off her finger with the ring, her eyes widening as the Shimmer grabbed the removed digit. It had been a feint. He'd endured the pain to get an opening.

"I am not." Savior said, and crushed the ring. Crystal's shocked look never faded as she turned to black ash and exploded.

Raven lowered her hand, turning back towards the battlefield.

Even as Marissa Mori ducked under another attack from her father and gutted him with one quick slice.

Even as the Logans, the last remaining of the Titans' Black Lanterns, knocked Wonder Girl away, only for Beast Boy to immediately replace her.

"Freak. Monster. THING." Mark Logan said, as he and Marie fired black rays at Beast Boy. Beast Boy responded with a charge, turning into a ferret to dodge…and then something much bigger.

"Bear." Beast Boy said.

His paw lashed out, and two hands went flying. That was the problem when grouping shots, as the Logans turned to recall their rings…

Before a rock crashed down on the hands, smashing them into the ground. The Logans exploded nearly simultaneously, coating Beast Boy in dust.

"…done." Beast Boy said, turning back to normal, as several Titans gathered around him. At the same time, explosions blasted across the sky.

"You can't run! You can't escape!" Murdercrow yelled, as the three members of Genocide and the Lord traded attacks across the sky. Raven watched, as she finally understood how the Lord had turned it around so well. Not only had he manipulated the emotion bomb to go off as it did, he'd skimmed the negative emotions unleashed during the process to give him a boost back to proper fighting form.

"There is no hope or escape from what you owe!" Shadowmaster said, forming a giant scythe and flying towards the Lord. Sizzle lashed out with more fire explosions and Murdercrow fired off more of her arcing ring blasts. "You will know true terror!"

The Lord watched the attacks come, and then he blinked away.

Murdercrow was caught by a terrible punch across the face. A second later Shadowmaster was blasted higher into the air by a vicious axe kick. Sizzle ended the trio of blows with an elbow to the back of the head. A moment later, the Lord blurred into view between the three Black Lanterns.

"_Then elpizo topta. The fovamai tipota. Eimai eleftheros."_

The Lord transformed into blinding, tearing shadow as he tore through the air and across Shadowmaster's body, then Sizzle's, then Murdercrow's, back and forth in a pinball of rending ruin. Their bodies tore, shredded, and bled, but their rings remained undamaged, and their regeneration began immediately as the Lord reformed and blasted upward into the sky, the three Black Lanterns on his tail.

The fist slammed into Marissa, knocking her on her rear. She started to get up as Mitch Mori approached.

"Still taste good." Mitch said, licking the blood that had splattered on her finger. "Time for my last meal."

The Lord stopped, high in the sky. Raven suddenly knew what was coming, and yelled in everyone's heads to get down.

"DIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!" Genocide shrieked in unison, as the Lord drew his limbs together.

"And the last enemy that shall be destroyed is death." The Lord said. _**"HALLOWED DESOLATION!"**_

The sky around the Lord suddenly bloomed with a thousand dark dots.

Moments later an overwhelming storm of black spears and slashing lines of energy rained down on the area directly below the Lord. Genocide could only scream as they were caught in it, the attack tearing them to pieces. Rings spiraled through the air, and then shattered, hundreds of strands of flesh transforming into ash even as the spears and slices tore into the battlefield and the buildings within it, causing most of the rest to collapse and catch fire.

Several of the spears impaled through Mitch Mori, stopping him in his tracks.

"…huh?" Mitch said. "That's not fair!"

Marissa's blade slashed down, and Mitch Mori died once again as his ring shattered, the spears falling to the ground and vanishing without a trace.

The Lord was left alone in the sky, as he lowered his arms and looked at his handiwork.

"He lies here in the dust…but beholds Him. Whose name is rising."

* * *

Robin felt them returning, the normal feelings of controlled fear and concern from a normal battle situation, which is how he'd been feeling before the blazing white light. It was very strange to suddenly feel an intense surge of emotion, and then have it calm down immediately.

"Ugh. Whoa." Superboy said, touching down nearby. "Forget alcohol and pill bowls. You guys throw the best parties."

"Robin." Starfire said, floating down and hugging the Titans' leader tightly.

"You want to tell me what's going on? I know about the…Black Lanterns, but how the hell did it come to teaming up with…was that the Lord?"

"It is a long story."

"Isn't it always. Where's Beast Boy?"

"He's over there." Static said, pointing. Beast Boy was crouched on one knee, staring forward. Robin saw Terra head to him, and decided to wait a moment. He'd just seen his parents die, in a sense. That had to hurt.

"I'm sorry." Terra said.

"What? Don't be." Beast Boy said. "They weren't…I…"

A hitch interrupted Beast Boy's speaking, and Terra let him lean against her, as Beast Boy sobbed against her shoulder.

"It's all right. It will be all right." Terra said.

---------------------------------------------------

"Urrgggghhhh." Scalpel said, leaning on his war hammer as he tried to get the kinks out of his shoulders.

"You all right, Nigel?" Morgue said.

"Wondering how I'm going to get my damn glaive back." Scalpel said, looking at the water. "Are you, Sophie?"

"Now I see the good side of having a boring nine to five job." Sophie said. "…I'm just glad they didn't revive my grandfather. This was…hard enough."

"…I'm hearing whispers from some of our friends who came to help that there were some graves the Black Lanterns couldn't defile. That they couldn't raise them because they were 'at peace'. Your grandfather…he died peacefully and without regrets, didn't he? Because you took over for him."

"Yeah…" She sighed, thinking about her lost business. "I'm sure he's really happy."

"Hey, what you start out doing doesn't always define you. And if it does, you can always return to it." Scalpel said. "If how you started defined you, I'd probably just be bones on some forgotten rock now."

"I assume that Blacktrinian is why you never talked about your military service."

"…he was a large part." Scalpel said. "He was also a coward and a traitor. Traits that all races share, it seems."

"…We're taking a week off."

"You think that will be enough?"

"Maybe not, but that's life." Morgue said. "After this, I'd like to do some living."

---------------------------------------------------

"Hey. Cyborg. You going to be all right?" Blue Beetle asked. Cyborg sighed deeply. He hurt too, but Beast Boy was the one who needed support. He'd head over in a moment, soon as he collected himself.

"No, Jaime. But I'll live. It's the price of life." Cyborg said. "My father did everything he could to ensure I'd enjoy the better parts of life. I plan to do a lot of that before we meet again."

* * *

It wasn't just the heroes that were affected.

Elijah stood still, feeling the wind on his body, watching the ash that had been her blow away. He reached up, pulling back his mask, letting the breeze hit his face.

It was over and done. He'd taken care of the creature that had pretended to be his mother. It hadn't been his mother. She hadn't…

Elijah swallowed hard, and walked towards Charlotte, who still knelt on the ground where she'd struck her last blow.

"…I kept my promise father." Charlotte said quietly, her tears dripping on the ground. "Rest in peace….rest in peace."

Elijah knelt by the woman, taking her hand.

"Charlotte…we can't stay here for long."

"I know…I know." Charlotte said, as she lifted her arm and put it over Elijah's shoulders. "Just a little longer. A little longer."

"…okay." Elijah said.

Kid Flash watched the scene, not sure what to make of it. In the end, he decided he'd had enough messy trouble for the day, and left them alone. Elijah Versaw would pay another time.

Besides, in his own way, he was probably paying already.

---------------------------------------------------

White Hole stared at where her mentor had been, as the feelings that had roiled within her for so many centuries, and still did, deep down, beyond even her medication's reach, came rushing back.

They found, after so many years of wanting it, a victory.

Nightwalker was approaching the alien as she threw back her head and roared, a sound so resonant emotional outburst and satisfaction that it struck Nightwalker in the soul as well as in her ears. With her victory cry made, The White Hole slumped back down, standing still for several seconds before turning to the pair.

"Sine." The White Hole said.

"You won. I knew you could." Nightwalker said. "But we can toast your win elsewhere. We need to go. The heroes might not appreciate us hanging around."

"Let them come. Let them…"

"Come on." Nightwalker said, taking the White Hole by one arm and leading her along. The alien surprisingly let her do this for several seconds before pulling her hand away and following under his own power.

It took some time to find a working car. Nightwalker helped Westminster into the front seat as the White Hole climbed into the back. Nightwalker hotwired the vehicle and headed off.

"I think…instead of a job…maybe we should take a vacation." Dr. Westminster said.

"Sounds good to me. Just where should we go?"

"I don't know, let's ask Rebecca." Westminster said. "Rebecca, where would…"

Silence, and Nightwalker turned around, looking at the White Hole's limp form, her eyes closed.

For a moment, Nightwalker waited, wondering if she would see the alien breathe.

---------------------------------------------------

Silently, Myth walked away from the battlefield, back in his human form. His emotions being returned had done little to change how he felt. He'd done his grieving a long time ago.

He would resume the search. One day, he would find the man he'd trusted. Who had murdered his sister.

Then, much like he had, he'd strangle him until his head popped off like a cork.

---------------------------------------------------

The landing site in the nearby forest was silent, smoke rising from the crater that had been made.

A hand shot from the dirt that had collapsed down into the pit, and Sizzle clawed her way back up. Somehow, she'd escaped.

"Can't kill me, you bastard…" Sizzle rasped, pulling herself out of the premature grave. "I am fire. I always burn. You will burn. You will all…"

Someone was with her. She turned to face them.

"Burn?"

The sword slashed out, slicing off Sizzle's ring finger, said ring flying into the air. The Black Lantern was so shocked at who it was that she couldn't prevent the sword from being drawn back and stabbed into her, her body going numb with cold.

Her ring dropped into his outstretched hand, his fingers closing on it as she stared into his emerald eyes.

"…you." Sizzle said.

"I'll never let you fall." Was all he said.

Green and white energy exploded on his hand, burning the ring away. Sizzle's body broke apart, the ash settling onto the ground at his feet.

He turned, walking away and sliding his sword into the sheath on his back. He said nothing else.

* * *

By the time Cipactli could see again, she found that Gauntlet hadn't moved from the spot where he'd gone to war against the Black Lanterns.

"…he did it." Cipactli said, as her helmet slid up: her visual systems had been completely shorted out by the light that the Gauntlet had emitted. Considering she used light as a weapon herself, that really said something about whatever the light had been.

"Did that really just happen?" Gauntlet said, staring at where the Black Lanterns were.

"I believe it did. They're gone. You actually succeeded." Cipactli said. "…Congratulations, I guess."

"Oh thank God." Gauntlet said, slumping with a wince. Cipactli finally noticed the Gauntlet itself: its outer covering had been completely blown off, exposing twisted and scorched black machinery she couldn't identify. Whatever Gauntlet had somehow manifested from it, it had taken a hell of a lot out of him. It would be a while before his namesake was back to normal.

"…are you hurt?"

"Ow…" Gauntlet said, as he retracted the badly damaged artifact. His arm was covered by ugly burns, though if Cipactli had been able to scan him, he would have seen his other injuries had oddly disappeared. The pain of his arm kept Gauntlet from noticing.

"Owwwwwwwww. I hope I see Raven soon. Or that skin grafts don't suck as much as I've heard." Gauntlet said. "Well, we won. And thus ends…THE ADVENTURE OF THE ZOMBIE LANTERNS!…no. Not working. I guess my chest isn't barrel-esque enough…hey." Gauntlet said. "Where are you going?"

Cipactli stopped, having turned away and started to leave.

"The battle's done. You're not going to die, and probably have your own medical avenues. So I'm leaving."

"…Thanks, Cipactli. You saved my bacon at least three times back there." Gauntlet said. "And…well, you had faith in me. Maybe not a lot of it. But it was enough."

"…you're welcome." Cipactli said.

"So, want to team up somewhere down the road? Maybe we can just stop a nice bank robbery or a doomsday device."

"…No, Gauntlet. I suspect that our paths…are not the same." Cipactli said.

"…oh." Gauntlet said. "Well, I er…I was wondering about that. And…well, thanks again. Say, how do you spell your name? I want to look up the meaning later."

"…It's from Aztec Mythology." Cipactli said, and started to leave again.

"…so what's your real name?"

"…What kind of person wearing a mask tells people their real name?"

"Come onnnnnnnnnn." Gauntlet said. Cipactli paused.

"…Zia." Zia Mori said.

A moment later, she was gone. Gauntlet was left alone amongst the wrecked streets.

"Well, there's another girl who probably won't date me." Gauntlet said. "Ah well. At least I still have that tech I swiped off Gizmo…wait. Is he still tied up?"

* * *

Raven would have gone to Noel. She could feel his raw pain, his stolen emotions having come back and caused the full ramifications of what he had done to slam into him. She wanted to comfort him, to tell him it would be all right. That despite this past year, she hadn't left him.

Except as she did, she felt the pain start to fade.

More precisely, she felt the pain start to get drained away. A process she was more than familiar with.

The last piece of the puzzle slammed into place.

Despite her own pain and exhaustion, her anger re-ignited, and she turned away from Noel.

Others would answer first.

---------------------------------------------------

The fear was gone. Even after all she'd been through, fear had remained in her. It was finally gone.

The rest of the emotion in her was sufficient to overwhelm her though, as she lay on the ground, her jian nearby, as she wept into the rough dirt beneath her hands. She felt like she would cry forever.

"MARISSA." Raven hissed.

Marissa jerked up to her feet, scrambling away as Raven floated down near her, her exposed eye wide with shock. Until she'd looked at her, face to face, Raven had wanted to hope that she was somehow wrong. The fact she wasn't brought new questions, and rage, to her mind.

"It IS you." Raven said. "We thought you died in the Last Wish…how the hell did you end up HERE?"

"Isn't the answer obvious, Raven?"

The Lord bloomed into being behind Marissa, his long cloaks floating in the air. Marissa looked behind herself, and then turned back to Raven, looking a little less alarmed but still deeply concerned.

"I told you I was out to save the worthy." The Lord said. "Some of those worthy are revealed in the strangest ways."

"…you…took her in? Considering…what…what…" Raven whispered, as she looked into Marissa's mind, and realized just what she saw there. Or rather, what she didn't see. "What did you _DO _to her?"

"I fixed her. In a way your society would never have succeeded."

"Fixed her? FIXED HER? Do you have any IDEA how you've MUTILATED HER, YOU BASTARD?"

"I brought her the peace your people would have never given her. There's a price to pay for that, but yours is greater." The Lord said, looking at his aide as he recalled his sword to him. "You used _Tezcatlipoca _well, Miss Mori. Well done."

"I…lost control of myself afterward, master. I'm sorry…so sorry…"

"No. The circumstances are…understandable. Here." The Lord said, producing a goblet and handing it to Marissa. Marissa stared down into it, and dark liquid began to pool within. Raven watched, shocked, as she saw Marissa's emotions cool down and fade just like her teammates had. Like Noel's had.

"…you bastard." Raven said.

"Hardly, Raven. It's not my fault your teammates are so tragically predictable."

"You knew we'd think you'd betray us. You knew that what we had to do might allow you to appear to do just that. Because of you, my teammates lost who they were. Killed their parents. And then regained themselves to realize what they'd done. Even if it WASN'T their parents, that they KNEW it wasn't, their nature…did you…did you really do all that just so you could eat their sorrow, you goddamn parasite?!"

"No. That was just a bonus. It was about proving a point, Raven. They could have acted differently. They could have acted like heroes supposedly do. But they couldn't see past their viewpoints. Now they suffer for it." The Lord said. "That's why the future is set. That's why _I'm _going to win."

"I'll _**KILL YOU…!"**_

"You can't. You had your chance once. It's lost now." The Lord said, taking the goblet from Marissa.

"If I can't, my teammates can…"

"Yes, do that. Lead them against me, shrieking what I've done. Never mind the danger the rest of the world is surely in, and how you could help out. Waste energy and lives seeking revenge on me. Go ahead." The Lord said. "I'm sure it will be worth it."

This time, the red eyes didn't just flash on Raven's forehead. They solidified, and Marissa recoiled. The Lord let her, keeping her near him as he watched.

Several seconds later, the eyes faded. The Lord chuckled briefly, and drank from the goblet. Distilled human sorrow. The finest of draughts.

"…Marissa." Raven said. "Come with me."

Marissa stared in her usual wide-eyed fashion.

"He's a bad man. A very, very bad man. You don't realize it, but he's hurt you. He'll keep hurting you. He's not like your father. He's WORSE. Please." Raven said, offering a hand.

Marissa stood stock-still, before looking at the Lord.

"…it's your choice, Miss Mori." The Lord said, sipping from his chalice. "Your life is yours. That's what I made of you."

"…I know what he's done." Marissa said. "The deaths, the tortures…I don't care. It doesn't matter. He's the only one who ever helped me. The only one. All you can offer me is a cage."

Marissa shrank back closer to the Lord.

"He fixed me. I chose to follow."

Raven lowered her hand. Her failure was complete.

"…you'll pay for this." Raven said. "For today. For Savior. For EVERYTHING."

"You would know, wouldn't you?" The Lord said. "You think you're done paying yourself, Raven? More importantly, don't you realize the only one making you pay…is you?"

The Lord drank once more from his goblet. Raven clenched her fist again, feeling her nails dig into her palm.

"It's all about cost, Titan." The Lord said. "You wanted to keep mankind alive. Do you know what keeps mankind alive?"

Raven felt motion, and suddenly some crows flew past her, as the Lord raised his arm.

"What keeps mankind alive's the millions yearly, that they mistreat and cheat, the beaten burned and barbequed." The Lord said, as the crows began to land on him. Marissa turned inward, becoming lost in the Lord's cloaks. "Mankind may _just _survive, if it sincerely, keeps every 'decent human urge' subdued."

More and more crows flew to the shadow demigod, lighting on him. Blood began dripping from Raven's hand, as the Lord became lost under the black birds.

"Try not to trim the truth to suit your needs." The Lord's voice echoed in Raven's ears, and across the fire-torn wasteland the Titans and Tartarus had made of part of Jump. Again.

"Mankind is kept alive, _by monstrous deeds!"_

The crows scattered, flying everywhere.

The Lord was gone. A moment later, his goblet clattered to the ground.

---------------------------------------------------

"…Raven?" Savior said a minute later.

Raven had no words as she knelt down by Savior, placing her arm around him. With the Lord gone, his pain was starting to flare up again. This time though, she'd be there.

"...I killed her…"

"No Savior. You honored her memory. She'd be proud of you." Raven said.

"Then why does it hurt so much?"

"…because pain is for the living. Only the dead don't feel it." Raven said.

The pair sat there for a moment, Raven holding Savior close. Later, she felt that, in that moment, watching him suffer for what he'd done, that she finally, fully forgave him.

The moment could not last forever though, as Savior's communicator crackled.

"….yeah?" Savior said.

"Sorry Savior, but we'll have to mourn later. Things aren't over! All hell is breaking loose in Coast City! We have to help!" Robin said, and signed out.

"…it never ends, does it." Savior said.

"Not unless we end it." Raven replied. "Let's go save some lives."

* * *

_**Perhaps other adventures were had by our young heroes…**_

_**But that is a tale for another time…

* * *

**_

"Yeesh." Gauntlet said, sitting on the couch amongst the gathered Titans, as well as several members of Young Justice who had hung around after all was said and done. "I thought the weirdest stuff happened to me, what with the zombies attacking, and this new girl I met whose face I never saw, also there were pirates, that was later, it was actually awesome…and I come home and find instead of a fun and interesting day it was…ugh."

"It happens Rob." Terra said. "It's done. Time to move on."

"Good idea. I left out one thing: I swiped Gizmo's Wiistation 360." Gauntlet said, holding up a gaming device.

_Elsewhere._

"SNOTGARGLING PITSNIFFERS!"

_At the Tower._

"What the heck is that?" Static said.

"Gizmo put a bunch of video game machines together in a Frankenstein of awesome."

"Is it safe?"

"I'm willing to take that chance. So, who's up for Gizmo's hacked Smash Brothers Melee, featuring Megaman, Master Chief, AND Ramna?"

* * *

"Oh hey Star. What's up?" Beast Boy said, sitting on his bed at Starfire knocked on his door.

"I thought I might like to hear more from your book tonight."

"Uh, k. Any reason why?"

"The recent events have reminded me of how…what you believe gets twisted."

"Yeah." Beast Boy said, as he opened his desk and took out his bible. "That's just the problem of free will. We were all given it, and a lot of people just think it's a right, not a task set before us. They reap their own fates, in the end. I just present it as I see it, it's up to you how you take it."

"Something that goes against all their ravings would be nice."

"Certainly. I'll just page through." Beast Boy said, flipping through the pages. "Here we are. '_And I hold you by your right hand--I, the Lord your God, And I say to you, 'Don't be afraid. I am here to help you.'_"

* * *

The graveyard was quiet, and empty save for the single solitary figure. He appeared to be a middle-aged Asian man in a business suit.

Shadows pooled by him, and a moment later Raven appeared through them. Instead of her combat clothes, she was wearing a simple black dress.

"I've swept the place repeatedly. There is no chance of you, or I, being seen. Nothing is observing the grave."

The Asian said nothing, as the image laid over Noel Collins vanished. Out of costume and his 'hero form', dressed in a suit and an Inverness coat, Noel laid a bouquet of flowers on the grave in front of him. If it had been disturbed in the recent events, it had been cleaned up since then.

The grave was relatively simple, and besides the two dates, contained just four words.

CRYSTAL COLLINS-BELOVED MOTHER.

Raven found it fitting, and not in the way she suspected Noel's father had intended.

Some birds flew overhead. Raven glanced up. More crows.

She didn't bother to count them.

* * *

_It is worthwhile to live  
and fight courageously  
for sacred ideals._

_O blow ye evil winds  
into my body's fire  
my soul you'll never unravel._

_Even though disappointed a thousand times  
or fallen in the fight  
and everything would worthless seem,_

_I have lived amidst eternity --  
Be grateful, my soul --  
My life was worth living._

_He who was pressed from all sides  
but remained victorious in spirit  
is welcomed into the choir of heroes._

_He who overcame the fetters  
giving wings to his mind  
is entering into the golden age of  
the victorious._

-Norbert Capek

Composed in Dresden Prison in 1941, shortly before he was transferred to Dachau concentration camp, where he died in October, 1942

_**THE END**_

_**

* * *

**_

"_I'm not exactly sure how I can help you, Miss Raven."_

"_I need to tell someone, Dr. Sidlakus. I can't tell my friends, not yet…maybe never." Raven said. "I can't tell a stranger, too much could go wrong. I can't confess to a priest, they wouldn't understand. You are the only one I could think of who I could talk to, who might understand…and I can't keep it inside any more."_

"_This involves that Lord entity? Who's performed some sort of…experiment with his powers with this Marissa Mori?"_

"_Yes…what can you tell me about that?"_

"_How sure are you that she was abused, and who determined the diagnosis of Dissociative Identity Disorder?"_

"_I'm about as sure as I can be that she was abused. The damn courts weren't though: when Marissa disappeared during another disaster in our city, they dismissed the case. Right for the accused to face their accuser and all that. Then they found him dead some time later. A real mess…maybe one we should have investigated more." Raven said. She went on to talk about the doctors she had spoken to, before said disaster, and each of their viewpoints on what had happened to Marissa's mind, which was, in the end, impossible to clarify due to the girl being in a coma._

"_Even with all that, DID is not a commonly accepted diagnosis…All of the research on the supposed disorder are case studies, most of which are published by psychiatrists more interested in fame and money than helping their patients. Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome seems like it's a more appropriate diagnosis, and the bridging theory is that DID is just a misinterpreted and extreme form of it."_

_Raven was silent for a time._

"_If that's true…the bastard did even more damage than I thought." Raven said. "The possible DID alternate, doctor…it was GONE. He'd literally ripped it out of her head. I don't know what he did with it…but it was gone. And it took all the aspects it showed for Marissa. He crippled her, and called it 'the best option'."_

"_What do you mean exactly? PTSD is a disorder based on behaviors, so what do you mean when you say something's missing?"_

"_I was born an empath, doctor. I can feel the emotions of others. My upbringing has allowed me to visualize my own emotions in a certain fashion. Avatars of myself, each representing one emnotion. It's often a bit messier in other people's heads, but I can still apply the same basic concept via my birthright and powers." Raven said. "When I looked into Marissa's head, she didn't have the proper number of avatars. Anger, pride, confidence, all the avatars that would have been linked to motivation…they was gone. Her possible alter, Zia, was the one who normally expressed such things. They were all gone. All that was left were avatars of emotion that focused on passivity and loyalty."_

"_How exactly do you perceive these avatars? And what does it mean if one is missing?"_

"_As duplicates of the person. If one's gone, that person literally can't feel that emotion. Like you pulled a plant out by the roots and burned it. He's stolen half of her."_

"_Hmmm…have you come across this before?"_

"_No. And that's what concerns me." Raven said. "If he could do that to Marissa…he might be able to do it to others. Drive them slowly mad without them even realizing it. It's one thing to attack the mind…it's another to slowly work on it until the person is completely lost. Without ever even realizing it. I wanted the opinion of a professional. To know how to protect people. Maybe even save Marissa, if I can."_

"_While there are certainly cases of emotions being absent or unexpressed, this is something a bit beyond psychology and more into magics and metas that you heroes come across…It's not possible to erase emotions from someone through psychological abuse, though it is possible to suppress them. However, you made it clear that they are __**gone.**__" Dr. Sidlakus said. "My hypothesis would be that if you wanted to reverse the process, you'd have to discover how he did it to begin with. He most likely removed any of the…'troublesome' emotions so that he could mold her into a faithful servant, though I wouldn't have a clue what uses she'd be for. The emotions you said were missing are tied to self-concept…they're all about concern for yourself and your future. Without emotions and behaviors like that, anyone would become easily manipulated."_

_Dr. Sidlakus sighed. Despite himself, sometimes he really disliked dealing with metahuman matters. Psychology was complicated enough as it was._

"_Unfortunately, all of this is just speculation. I have no idea what the actual circumstances are, I have not spoken to the patient, and I don't know any of her history beyond word of mouth. I could be completely mistaken if any of that is erroneous. I do know, however, that such a situation is beyond me or any other psychiatrist to fix that point…you'll have to look elsewhere."_

"…_that's what I figured." Raven said, standing up. "Thank you doctor."_

"_Wait." Dr. Sidlakus said. Raven stopped. "You did want to talk about something else, didn't you?"_

_Raven was silent._

"_In fact, you wanted to do so until my responding sentence allowed you to jump onto another topic, before you tried to leave." Dr. Sidlakus said. "You don't want to avoid talking about it though, Raven. You want to let it out. You told me that, despite what you just did. Wouldn't it be better if that's what you did?"_

_Raven was silent, not moving. Dr. Sidlakus wondered if she was going to use the same teleport she used to arrive to leave without speaking._

_In the end, she sat down again. It was some time before she spoke._

"…_last year, Noel murdered the entire team." Raven said quietly._

"…_pardon?" Dr. Sidlakus said._

"_He killed the team. For me." Raven said. "I…I'm the only one who remembers."_

"…_You're going to have to explain in a bit more detail. Aren't they all alive?"_

"…_yes. Because…" Raven trailed off, collecting herself. "For the past several years, we've been plagued by this…chaos energy. It exists in a separate dimension, and it's bled over to our world. It taints reality, causing these…creatures to manifest. By the way it alters the nature of existence, repelling the energy back to its point of origin causes anything they've done, any damage they've caused, to reverse. Like it never happened. The first several times it happened, it was accidental. But last year, someone purposely utilized the manifestation, and its habits, as a weapon. Hiding behind what we thought was the same story, told a different way."_

_Raven swallowed._

"_We were kidnapped, stripped of our powers, and put into a gauntlet of death traps. To motivate us, we were all injected with poison beforehand. All of us were told what we were supposed to do in our traps, our tests…Noel's was hidden among the obvious ones. I was separated from the group and held captive, and he was told the only way he could save me was if he killed all his other teammates. Our teammates. Our friends."_

"_But if this happened, how could they be alive?"_

"…_the attack on us was done with the same corruptive energies. Everyone died under its hand…I was able to invoke a great power, to cast the chaos back. It brought back my team, without any knowledge of what had happened. I…lied to them about what they'd suffered. I told them they'd died, but not who had really killed them."_

"…_If it's some sort of 'chaos magic', wouldn't that explain his behavior? I'm no expert in magics of any kind, but from my experience during his treatment, I doubt Noel would be able to kill any of his teammates. Even for you."_

"_It wasn't the magic. It was the poison." Raven said._

"_The poison?"_

"_It was a nerve-based toxin. It slowly killed everyone else, but due to Noel's…unique status, it affected him differently. It damaged his mind. It killed his morality, and he…he killed them. For me. He thought it was the right thing to do. He murdered our family…because he thought he could save me."_

"…_That wouldn't make much sense. If it was some sort of agent that destroyed nerve cells, it would have destroyed just as much of the other nerves throughout his body and brain as it would in the prefrontal lobe. If it wiped out his morality center, then he should have had trouble coordinating movement, problems with vision…"_

"_Unless something manipulated everything so that he just lost his humanity. And nothing else." Raven said, lowering her head. "I've known that for a long time. Even knowing, even with help…I just couldn't forget what he did. I tried, many times…but it couldn't work. I couldn't see past his actions…not until what happened just now."_

_Dr. Sidlakus was suddenly aware of his desk vibrating. He glanced down in mild alarm for a moment._

"_I just…needed to tell someone the truth, doctor. Because I know who did this to him. To us." Raven said. "The Lord. Watching what he did to Marissa, what he did to us again, how he hurt them, hurt Noel…I know who's to blame. Now, truly, entirely. I know something else as well. He thinks the situation went completely in his favor, but he's wrong. When he pulled his little trick, when he made my own teammates hurt themselves…I got a brief flood of images from him. Aspects of his mind. An unexpected side effect of the connection. He was so busy making his 'betrayal' look good he never even noticed. I KNOW WHAT HE'S GOING TO DO. SOON."_

_Raven looked up, her eyes glowing white._

"_AND BELIEVE ME, IT IS GOING TO BE THE DEATH OF HIM."_

* * *

_**February 2010, things will be settled, once and for all.**_

_**In**_

_**HEARTS OF DARKNESS**_


End file.
